Royal Secrets
by PGerv214
Summary: When the prince is of age, he must marry so he can obtain the thrown, Natsume Hyuuga is no exception, even though he isn't happy about it, but what happens if the princess and her maid contain a secret?
1. Chapter 1: I Have To What!

_**Okayyy so for my past few stories, everyone had there Alices, so now I wanna pull them back in time. Well not literally, what I mean is this story is gonna set in a different time era. Instead I'm gonna base the story back into the time of princes and princesses, castles and kingdoms, queens and kings, you get the idea :D and they do not have their Alices, welll enjoy :D I do not own Gakuen Alice :)**_

**Chapter One- I Have To What!- Natsume's POV-**

"Son! Where are you" I heard my father call to me as I raised the bow in my hangs and aimed it at my target. "Ah Natsume, there you are, how many times have I told you not to use the servants as targets when practicing with your bow?" he scolded and I yawned, rather bored of hearing this every time I practiced archery.

"Father, I am not using them as a target, I am using them as a stand that supports my real target" I said and eyed the apple on the servants head fifty feet away from me as another servant set the head of the arrow on fire. I swiftly pulled the bow back and aimed, ready to let the arrow fly towards my target. However, my father placed his hand around the arrow and blew the fire out.

"You are all dismissed" he called to the servants who were assisting me. They all smiled brightly at him, relief evident on their face. Tch, it's like they thought I would kill them, idiots. Once they were all gone, my father turned to me, a strange expression on his face. Oh no...I'm guessing whatever he has to say won't be pleasant. He motions me to follow him and leads me back towards the castle. We pass by multiple servants who smile and bow in respect as they greet us.

When we make it to his private study, he closes the door behind him and I look towards the couch and see my mother sitting there with her hands folded on her lap as she starred vacantly in front of her, obviously deep in thought. Definitely not a good sign. My mother was always aware of her surroundings, the only time I've seen her like this was when we found out that Aoi, my younger sister, was mute.

"Sit down, son" my father said, sounding rather upset. Did I do something wrong? Was he really that upset that I was using the servants for target practice? Why would he bring it up now, I've had them help me with sports since I was five. Why would it become a problem now? I never harmed any of the servants, physically at least, mentally I scared them to death whenever I practiced. I took a seat opposite of my mother and father sat next to her.

"Son, your mother and I have been talking. Your eighteen, so soon we'll have to hand the kingdom over to you. However, we can't do that until you are married, and you are of age, so we think you should get married" he said and mother finally was starring at me. Whoa wait a minute...marriage? No, I don't think so. Girls were pests, especially those snotty spoiled princesses who acted like they had a pole up their ass everyday.

"No" I said plainly and my father looked at me sternly. "Father, I don't care about the girls around here. All they want is to be royalty and those princesses are spoiled brats that think they own the world. I want nothing to do with them" I stated and he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Okay so I admit I take my servants for granted with sports and such, but thats only so I can keep my mind off royal things.

If I could chose I would wear peasant clothes and spend my days in a tree reading a book. I didn't want to be royalty, because all people did was use me for money or power. The only people I actually talked to was my parents, Aoi, Ruka, a peasant who worked in our animal barn, and Youichi, a young boy who didn't have parents. He took me as a role model of some sort and had trusting issues. Other then that, I never spoke to anyone but servants when I needed assistants.

"Son it's your duty as a prince of the Fire Kingdom. Now, we decided that you should marry the princess of the Sakura kingdom. She's never been allowed outside the kingdom so we don't know what she's like, but I knew her parents well. We will invite her and a maid of her choice to come stay at our kingdom so you can meet her and get to know her" Mother said and I growled under my breath. "We're sorry, but it has to be done, you are dismissed" she said and I glarred at them before storming out of the room.

This is ridiculous, this is why I wished to be a peasant. No normal young man was forced to marry at such a young age, they were allowed to actually fall in love and get married and have children. I wasn't allowed happiness like that. I had to do things for my people and family. Responsibilies I never wanted and would give away if I had the chance.

"Ruka!" I snapped as I walked into the animal barn, and searched for the person I called my best friend. I saw the blonde boy in the back with the rabbits, cradling them in his arms. Ruka was a shy blonde boy with blue eyes. His personality contrasted mine perfectly and he was in love with animals of every kind. He now turned to me, and noticed that I was angry. He immediately put his rabbit down and walked over to him.

"What is it Natsume?" he asked, as he dusted some hay off his pants. Besides my family, he and Youchi were the only ones who didn't address me as "Prince Hyuuga" or "Your Majesty". He went over to a small closet near the pig pen and pulled out two books and smiled at me. He knows that when I'm angry I like to be alone and read. I gave him a slight smirk before reaching into a barrel and pulling out some of Ruka's clothes that he gave me and changed into them.

It wasn't really a disguise, more as time saver. When people see my usual clothes my mother buys me, they immediately stare and realize right away I'm the prince. However, if I'm wearing normal peasant clothes like these, they don't really attract attention, so by the time they even think about who I am, I'm already long gone.

Once I finished changing, we both made our way out of the kingdom and towards the woods. While on our way there, we saw a group of kids outside of the orphange playing a game of some sort. One of the kids happened to be Youichi, who immediately saw us and smiled brightly.

"Onii-chan!" he called and all the kids turned and rushed towards us. "Onii-chan please play with us" Youcihi begged and I smiled gently at him before looking at Ruka who smiled in return. I then straightened up and walked inside the orphanage.

"Excuse me, I would like to take the group of children in front out to play with me and my friend' I said to the old women at the counter who looked at me with a strange look in her eyes. I could tell she was about to say no so I pulled out my golden chained necklace that had my families insignia on it. "I am Natsume Hyuuga, heir to the thrown of the Fire Kingdom" I said sternly and her eyes widened.

"Oh of course not a problem" she said and smiled brightly. "Thank you, your majesty, it is an honor to be in your precense let alone have you help with out children" she said and I grunted in response before heading back outside. The kids all were waiting outside the door starring intently at me waiting for an answer. I turned towards the words and started walking but when I didn't hear anything behind me I looked over my shoulder.

"Aren't you coming?" I asked the group and smiles errupted on their faces before they ran over. Youichi immediately jumped onto my back while other kids clung to my legs and arms. Ruka hobbled next to me as some of the kids jumped onto his back and wrapped themselves around his legs, making it hard for him to walk. We led them to a small lake in the woods and watched them play around for a while as we talked.

"So why are you so angry?" Ruka asked as Youichi teamed up with this kid with brown hair so they could throw a girl into the lake. I remembered the conversation with my parents and immediately scowled, once again angry. I watched the girl pull herself out of the lake and start chancing the boys around screaming.

"My parents want me to marry the princess of the Sakura Kingdom" I growled and he froze, shocked. "They just pulled me to Father's study out of no where and told me this. They say I have to get married since I'm of age and need to be married to take on the throne" I explained and he nodded, but I saw the look of pity on his face. I always got that look from him, ever since I met him. That's why he's my bestfriend. He understands he has a great life and doesn't want to be rich or royal like everyone else.

"I'm sorry Natsume, I know how much you hate being a prince and having these duties" he said sadly and I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. Whenever I told Ruka about something I was supoose to do, he always felt bad. As if he himself was going through the same thing as I was and new as I felt.

"Whatever" I said and stood up, and walked over to Youichi who was laughing at the girl who was too tired to chase him anymore. I closed my eyes and pushed him into lake before putting my hands behind my head. I heard laughter and then splashing so I opened one eye and looked at Youichi who was glarring at me from inside the lake.

"Onii-chan!" he yelled and I smirked at him. Next thing I knew I was in the water myself and once I resurfaced I saw Ruka grinning at me as the rest of the kids jumped in the lake and joined me and Youici. Ruka soon followed them and then all the children started splashing water at each other and laughing. They then all jumped onto me and Ruka trying to dunk us under the water. I sighed, feeling relaxed as I forgot about the arranged marriage.


	2. Chapter 2: Introducing The Princess

_**I am so so so sorry for the really late update, but I've been really busy with school work and Drama Club along with planning for America's Yankee Miss Pageant. Anyways let's move on. Quick note, this isn't exactly like back when there were princesses and such. Like if you wear a dress that reaches mid-thigh you won't get like banished or anything or frowned upon. And sign language exists. So if you read through and there is something that looks like it shouldn't be in this time era, please don't get too mad. Just think of it as a semi-modern princess story :) Okay back to the story.**_

**Chapter Two- Introducing The Princess- Natsume's POV-**

After playing with the children for a while, Ruka and I dropped the kids off back at the orphanage before heading back to the castle. I was truly relaxed now, forgetting about the arranged marriage completely. Maybe I would be able to sleep soundly tonight unlike other nights where I can't even get an hour of slumber. However, that idea flew out the window when my mother ran over to us smiling brightly.

"Natsume darling! We just received a letter that the princess of the Sakura Kingdom will arrive in the morning. Isn't that wonderful? We estimated she wouldn't be able to arrive until two or three days. Now you'll have even more time to get to know her before the wedding!" she exclaimed and Ruka paled beside me. "Natsume? What on earth are you wearing? Change immediately, I don't want my son looking like he just pulled himself out of a lake" she said, and with that walked briskly back to the castle.

"Just perfect, right Ruka?" I muttered and Ruka sighed. We went back to the animal barn so I could change back into my clothes before going into the hay loft to read. This was a usual day for us, the only difference? I was meeting me _fiance _tomorrow...wonderful.

The next morning when I woke up, I felt like I could lay in bed until I died. Yeah..like my mother would allow that. Not long after I awoke, she rushed into my room and ordered my to take a shower and put on my best clothes. I had no choice but to listen, so after I got ready, I headed downstairs and find Ruka. There was no way I was meeting this girl without him around.

"Ruka!" I called when I entered the animal barn. He was feeding the horses smiling brightly. He was always like this the morning, and I had no idea why. What was so great about feeding horses. "Ruka hurry up, that princess will be here soon" I said and he looked up and nodded before he quickly finished feeding the animals. He then followed me into the castle to wait in the Grande lobby with my parents.

"Natsume aren't you excited!" Mother exclaimed as she held onto Aoi's hand tightly. Aoi looked at me with a sad expression on her face. She quickly signed a message telling me she's sorry but just give the girl a chance at the very least. Damn, why did she have to say that. I couldn't help but agree for her sake, I can never disagree with her, she was my younger sister after all, I really cared for her.

"Your majesty, the princess has arrived" the guard said and I groaned. They then opened the door revealing a girl my age with short black hair and violet eyes. She was wearing a gown like most princesses that was a light purple and had a silver diamond encrusted tiara on her head. She walked briskly with purpose and her held held high with her hands folded in front of her. Based on the stoic expression on her face, she seemed like she thought she was better then everyone.

"Introducing princess Hotaru Imai, of the Sakura Kingdom" the guard announced and mothers face twisted with confusion for a minute. Aoi smiled slightly but I could tell she was making assumptions of the girl in front of us just like I was.

"It is a pleasure to meet you" Imai said as she bowed slightly. Mother smiled and Father looked the girl up a down, showing no emotion. I wondered what his opinion on the girl was. Ruka looked and gave a sheepish smile showing he found her pretty, but I just shrugged. Yes she was attractive, but so far her personality seemed ugly.

"Hello Princess Imai, I'm Queen Kaoru, this is my husband King Ioran, and my daughter Princess Aoi, and over there is my son Prince Natsume, and his friend Ruka Nogi. Now if you don't mind me asking, wasn't the king and queen of the Sakura Kingdom named Yuka and Izumi Sakura?" she asked and the girl nodded.

"Yes that is my parents names, I was adopted" she stated and Mother's mouth made a small O shape. She was clearly shocked but said nothing more. Just then the main doors flew open and a girl with long auburn hair that was tied in pigtails ran in wearing a maid dress that reached mid thigh and had a white head band on. She placed her hands on her knees and took a couple deep breaths.

"Pardon me, I'm late, my apologies" she said and Imai glared at her, which was strange for a princess. I looked back at the maid. She had chocolate brown eyes that had hints of gold and green in them and long creamy legs. For some reason I couldn't help but stare at her. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Mikan Sa-" she started but Imai cut her off.

"Mikan! Where were you" she snapped and the girl named Mikan flinched back. This princess was off and so was the maid. The maid may not act like a princess but she sounded like one, and the Imai girl didn't really act nor spoke like a princess. It was odd. And I wasn't the only one who noticed this. Aoi gave me a look and so did Ruka and my father. Mother on the other hand watched in amusement. I smirked and signed to Aoi telling her the maid was oddly stupid. Aoi smiled but gave me a look.

"Hey! For your information I can read sign language and I am not stupid you jerk" the girl named Mikan yelled and Aoi covered her mouth to hide her smile while I raised an eyebrow. I didn't expect the maid to know sign language. Especially since Imai looked rather confused, clearly showing she didn't. Why would a maid know a different language but not a princess?

"I'm sorry my son can be rude. I'm Queen Kaoru, you must be the Princess's maid, it's a pleasure to meet you" my Mother said and Mikan stopped glaring at me and smiled brightly at the her. She curtsied. I saw Imai glare at the girl again. What was with these two? But what really attracted my attention was the way the maid was glaring at me right now. It was so odd. Most girls were gawking at me, not glaring at me with such hatred.

"Anna will you please show these two to their room" mother asked and one of our maids with pink wavy hair nodded and bowed before leading the two girls away. Before turning the corner, the maid Mikan spun around and stuck her tongue out at me, before someone grabbed her hair and pulled her out of sight. I couldn't help but smirk slightly.

"How interesting" I muttered and Ruka looked at me. "Those two are weird, don't you agree? The maid does not act like a maid, she more around acts like a ill-mannered princess, and the princess, she doesn't act like a priness either" I said and Ruka nodded and turned back towards the direction the two girls went.

"I thought the same thing. But what surprises me was that the girl named Mikan seemed too glare at you like you were her enemy, it's weird, usually girls throw themselves at you, but not her. Well at least the princess is attractive" he said, clearly trying to convince me that the marriage wasn't so bad. I just shoved my hands in my pockets and starred at nothing.

"Yeah sure" I said, but my thoughts were occupied by the auburned haired girl. The idiot, she was a nuciance, but I couldn't help but think about her appearance. I could not believe I found a maid attractive, and I couldn't let anyone know I found her attractive. "What an idiotic maid" I said and he laughed. "Come on lets go read" I said and he nodded.

We decided to stay on castle grounds to read this time, so we went towards the cherry blossom trees and climbed up them until we weren't visable. This was my favorite place on the castle grounds to just sit and relax. Besides, no one really came near this area because it was behind the castle. I closed my eyes for a second in an attempt to relax but an annoying voice broke my concentration.

"Hotaru look at this place, isn't it beautiful!" the person said brightly and I looked down to see that maid Mikan and the princess below us. Mikan pulled her hair out of those stupid pig tails and took off the headband, letting her hair fall gracefully over her shoulders down to her waist. I mentally cursed due to the fact that she was evven more beautiful with her hair down. She then giggled before turning to Imai.

"These clothes are so much more comfortable then what I usually wear, it's a nice break" she said and smiled at the girl who rolled her eyes in return. "Oh Hotaru, on our way here I saw this cute little orphanage in the town. Can we go visit and play with the children, pretty please" she begged with her hands clapsed in a praying gesture while Imai glared at her. She then formed a fist with her right hand and hit Mikan in the head.

"Idiot, you almost blew it in there, be more careful. And I'm not going to that orphanage, I'm hungry, go by yourself" she said with no emotion. Mikann pouted her lip before placing her hands on her hips as if she was going to yell at Imai or something.

"Fine, I'll have someone else go with me" she said with a bright smile on her face, as if she just proved a major point. The princess in return raised her eyebrows,and this strange gleam appeared in her eyes before raised a hand to dismiss what she just said in a casual manner. I noticed her hand held calluses and they were rough like she did a lot of work or something.

"Mikan, don't forget, we are not home, and because of this stupid plan of yours, people most likely won't be willing to go with you if you want to do something" she said and Mikan's face fell before she glared at Imai and pointed an accusing finger at her. I noticed her hands, unlike Imai's, were soft and unharmed. That was odd. Usually it's the other way around, the princess has well manicured hands while the maid's hands are rough and callused.

"Your mean!" she yelled before storming off towards the entrance of the castle. Imai however walked in the other direction towards the castle as she called over different servants. Tch, princesses, of course she wouldn't got to the orphanage with her friend. Wait a minute, Mikan is going to the orphanage...I better go make sure Youichi doesn't tie her up and lock her in a closet.

I jumped down from the tree without a word to Ruka and headed towards the entrance of the castle, being sure to ignore anyone who talked to me or asked if I needed assistants. When I reached the orphanage I saw Mikan talking and laughing with a group of young girls while Youichi and his friends talked, most likely planning something. I saw I evil like grin spread on Youichi's gace before he picked up a pile of mud and prepared to throw it at the unexpecting girl.

"I'd duck if I were you" I yelled as Youichi threw the ball of mud. I watched her look up before quickly ducking, just in time so the pile of mud flew right above her head. She then stood up wide eyed as she starred at me then at Youichi who spun around and smiled at me.

"Onii-chan! Why did you warn that hag?" he asked with a pouty lip as he climbed into my arms. Knowing she was watching, I didn't smirk like usual, instead I just shrugged in response. He looked confused and annoyed but smiled. "Will you play with us today again?" he asked and I thought about it. I wouldn't hurt, but the last thing I wanted was someone besides Ruka to see my soft side. I looked at him again and sighed.

"Sure, fine" I said and he smiled brightly. I walked into the orphange and just like yesterday told the woman I would be bringing the children out to play. When I came out of the orphange, Mikan was still gaping at me, surprise evident on her face. Youichi immediately clung onto my leg as we walked to the lake again. I paid little attention to the fact that Mikan was following slowly behind with a confused expression on her face.

I really hated the fact that my soft side was being showed to a girl I just met, especially this girl. I don't know why, but this girl, there seemed to be some kind of force pulling me in. It was bizarre, and extremely annoying, just like her.

As soon as we got to the lake, all the kids started screaming as they jumped into lake splashing and laughing. I grinned and leaned against one of the trees as Mikan looked around, a bright smile on her face as she admired the sceneary.

"Idiot, stop spacing" I said and she jumped slightly before turning towards me. Once she got out of her shcok she glared at me and put her hands on her hips. "Is that like your signiture thing? Glarring at people?" I asked and she rolled her eyes.

"No, it's not, but you seem to be doing a lot of things that make me angry, can't you just relax and have fun for once? Your so grumpy, you don't have to be so negative all the time. Look at where we are. I've never been anywhere like this before" she said and I found it a little weird, but i wasn't going to ask. Instead I walked closer so I was towering over her.

"Then enjoy it some more" I said and placed my hand on her shoulder and pushed her gently, but enough to cause her to fall into the lake with a big splash. When she resurfaced she glared at me, yet again, before pushing her bangs out of her eyes as the kids laughed.

"It's not funny! Now help me out!" she ordered and I rolled my eyes but decided to listen anyways and extended my arm for her to grab it. When she took my hand, a bright smile formed on her face, and before I had time to react, she pulled me into the water. "Now that's funny!" she shoute and laughed along with the other kids. I glared at her, while she stuck her tongue out at me before splashing me. Soon enough all the kids started splashing each other, and soon enough I joined them without thinking.

Thankfully I was able to keep a straight face the entire time, however on the inside, I felt like I could laugh like everyone else was. I did realize though, that Mikan smile, was bright and full of happiness. it was as if she help all things good in that one smile. It made me wonder, how can doing something like this make a maid so happy? Don't they do this as a child?


	3. Chapter 3: Didn't see that coming

_**Hey everyone, recently I got a complaint saying that Natsume was as dumb as Mikan in the original Gakuen Alice. Well as much as I disagree that he's **_**THAT**_** dumb, I feel the need to clarify something. I needed to change his personality a little bit to match the story. If he was as smart as usual, he would figure out the secret right away and there wouldn't be that much of a story. Also, in this time, no one expects a princess to hold a secret, or a maid to pull a prince in a lake. I just wanted to say this because I don't like upsetting my readers. that would be all. Please enjoy the rest of the story :D I do not own Gakuen Alice. And I am soooo sorry about the really late update, but I got a bad case of writers block since the school year started : / I'll try to update as fast as possible from now on! Promise!**_

**Chapter 3: Didn't See That Coming: Ruka's POV-**

I watched Natsume jump down from the tree and follow the direction the maid Mikan went when she left. I didn't understand it, Natsume never was interested in what anyone else did, but suddenly he was following this girl to whoever knows where.

It was strange, but obviously this girl interested him. But the thing was, he was engaged, to the princess, yet her maid was the one who seemed to catch his eye. Well I can't really blame him, the girl was beautiful. But that never seemed to interest him before. I've seen many beautiful girls confront him and try to get him to marry them, yet he didn't even glance at them.

I jumped down from the tree and walked over to the animal barn to feed the animals since, due to the princess's arrival, I wasn't able to do earlier. When I got there I immediately relaxed and smiled as I starred at all the animals. Whenever I came in here I remembered how me and Natsume met.

We were six and I was with my mother who works at the palace. Many of the maids brought their children to work and I was only one of them. Every day I would go to the animal barn and played there. However, one day a group of the other maids children were waiting at the barn and started making fun of me for likeing animals so much and called me a girl. That's the day I first met Natsume.

He saw that they were making fun of me and walked over. At first I thought he was going to make fun of me as wel, but instead he punched one of the other kids in the face, giving them a bloody nose and causing him to cry. After that all the kids ran away and left me alone.

He then told me that I should really learn to protect myself, or else I'll be walked all over for the rest of my life. I then started crying and saying that I wasn't so sure that I can, which he then said "stop being a baby, if you can't learn to protect yourself then leave it to me, I guess I'll be forced to protect you." After that I we were best friends. I didn't even know he was the prince at first, because he didn't act like it at all.

Actually he never even told me, the only reason I found out was about two weeks after we met, my mom came to find me so we could go home and she saw Natsume and froze before bowing. He didn't really respond, so I asked her why she bowed and she told me he was the prince. At first I was shocked and didn't know what to say, and Natsume said nothing. I then decided I didn't really are whether he was the prince or not, I just pretended he was like any normal kid and I could tell he was grateful.

And so as the years went on, we were inseperable. You would always find us playing pranks on the cooks, maids, and even his father. He even opened up a little and told me why he hated being a prince and about his sister Aoi being mute.

I remember when we were eight Aoi was born. At first she seemed like a healthy child, but when she was still not talking at three years old, Natsume's mother knew something was wrong. For weeks, doctors all over the country were summoned to look at her, and all of them gave the same answer, Aoi was mute, however, Natsume's mother didn't want to accept it, so she kept trying to find a different reason for why Aoi wouldn't be talking.

At this time Natsume and I were eleven and he became even more silent and reserved. The news about Aoi really upset him and he couldn't quite get over it. It took him a long time to feel comfortable with the idea of learning sign language just so he can talk to his sister.

I heard someone laughing outside and looked out and saw Mikan walking with Natsume. Both of them were drenched like they just went swimming and Mikan was smiling brightly. Natsume looked bored and annoyed, but I could tell that he too was smiling on the inside. I couldn't help but feel over joyed by this, I've never seen Natsume sincerlly happy, and now he had this strange look to him that showed he was truly happy.

I then saw Natsume say something and Mikan's expression changed completely to anger before she started yelling something I couldn't understand. Natsume smirked and walked towards the cherry blossom tree, while she stormed into the castle. I'm assuming Natsume made a comment about her intelligance.

I laughed lightly. it was just like him to be happy with someone, then when it gets too much, he has to say something mean to lighten the mood. Whether the situation becomes awkward, or he feels that it's getting to friendly, he'll just throw out a random insult or something around those lines to clear the air. He's even done it with me many times. Except usually he wont insult me, instead he'll trip me or something around those lines.

I laughed at the memories as I finished feeding the animals. After that I headed towards the cherry blossom tree myself, to ask Natsume what was going on between him and that girl Mikan. Over the years, I realized that Natsume only carried out _real _conversations with his sister and I. The reason I don't count his parents, is because every time they have a conversation it is always about some kind of buisness.

Other then that, they hardly spoke. Natsume thinks it's enough that all they talk to each other about is buisness, but I believe he should try to have a normal conversation with them. When he refused, I realized that he didn't want to bother them because he knew how busy they were, and that he rather make himself suffer and feel the way he does, then make his parents schdual more hectic then it is.

Another thing I realized was that he really didn't want his parents to know who he really was. I don't really know why, but I think he believes that they will be disappointed in who he really is. He never really told me this, but I never stopped hoping he would.

When I got the tree, Natsume was sitting in the branches with one leg bent and his foot on the oppisit leg resting on his bent knee. He also hand his hands behind his head, relaxed, or pissed, it could be both, and his book covering his face. I was a little afraid to talk to him, after all, usually when he does this, he doesn't want to bothered, and judging by his fist that was clenching, he looked rather annoyed.

"Natsume?" I called and he didn't even more. I wondered if he heard me, so I prepared to call again, but the change of position of his right arm to cover the book showed me he heard me loud and clear. I then heard him sigh loudly. Yup, he was pissed.

"That brat, I shouldn't have been so nice to her, she's just some stupid maid. It's not like I have an obligation to be nice to anyone. Idiotic, loud mouthed, girl" he growled and laughed nervously. Okay...so it's clear that he likes her, well to an extent. It's not like he's gonna marry her or whatever, but something about her must attract his interest. I'm not sure if it's a romantic attraction or not, either way, he's angry that he likes someone with out them trying to get his attention.

"What a bother" he grunted and I smiled. He really needs to learn when to relax. So for some weird reason, this girls personality makes him actually like her as apart from every other person, whom he pretty much hates. Suddenly he jumped down next to me and walked towards the castle.

"Where are you going?" I called and he merely shrugged before disappearing inside. I sighed before blowing my hair out of my eyes. "Talk about a bother. Maybe I can get some information from the maid...great...I'm talking to myself. Maybe spending all my time with animals and Natsume are causing me to lose my sanity" I muttered before heading towards the castle myself.

It didn't take long to find the room the two girls were staying in, after all, the girl Mikan was very loud, and she was talking about how beautiful the palace was, and the town. I was about to knock on the door when I heard the princess's voice.

"Can I ask why your soaked?" the girl asked and Mikan stopped talking then I heard an agitated sigh and foot steps as someone paced about the room, doing something that I couldn't quite place. Perhaps she was unpacking her things? Or maybe trying to find something she lost.

"Ugh! That prince is a insensitive jerk! I went to the orphanage and the children were all really nice! But then I heard someone tell me to duck, so I turned around and did what they said, just in time to dodge a ball of mud this little boy threw. I then saw that it was Natsume who told me to duck!" she said and my mouth fell open. He helped her?

"Then the kid went up to Natsume and called him 'Onii-chan' and asked him to play again. At first I was sure Natsume was gonna say no, he looked like he didn't want to do it, but then he looked at the kid and sighed before going into the orphanage. When he came out he started walking away and I thought he was back to being the jerk he is, but _then_ he turned around and said 'are you coming' and all the kids ran after him and of course I followed" she said and I rolled my eyes.

"Well he brought the kids the a lake, and all of them went swimming, but what I foudn amazing was the sceneary, it was so pretty. Of course he ruined it by telling me to stop spacing and then he called me an idiot, and when I glared at him he asked it that was my signiture thing. I told him no, it was just that he seemeed to be doing a lot of things that makes me angry, but and told him to stop being so mean and grumpy and relax because we were in a beatiful place" she said and I figured Natsume got angry and called her something.

"You want to know what he did next? He walked over to and said 'then enjoy it some more' before pushing me into the lake!" she yelled and my eyes widened. "Well then the kids started laughing and I said it wasn't funny and to help me out, to which he listened. Thats when I got my revenge! I pulled him into the lake. Then everyone started splashing each other and it was really fun. But when we got back he called me stupid and the pervert said he could see throught my dress!" she yelled and I nearly laughed, that was so like Natsume.

"Stupid, you better not ruin my dresses, I can't afford a lot of those, and water really damages them" Imai said and I froze. What did she mean? She's a princess, she can afford all the dresses in the world if she liked. Not to mention a couple thousand pounds of gold and diamonds.

"I won't ruin them, and if I do, I'll just buy you more, but I have to admit, this dress is a lot more comfortable then those ball gowns, it's a lot easier to walk in, and I'm sure that if I was wearing my usual gowns I would have sunk when I got pushed in" Mikan said brightly with a giggle at the end, followed by a grunt.

"Tell me about it, I know appreciate my job uniform much more, after this is over I will never wear another gown again, speaking of which, what do you think about the marriage?" Imai asked and I heard more pacing. Okay this conversation was really confusing me now, everything seemed backwards.

"I don't know, but as of the moment I do _not_ want to marry Natsume. I mean he's a perverted jerk, who calls me stupid. I mean through out the day I thought maybe this wedding thing wouldn't be so bad, like when he helped me from getting hit with mud, or when he brought the orphanage out to play, and when we were splashing in the lake, but thats not enough. If I'm gonna be forced in an arranged marriage, then I want to be sure the person I marry wont drive me insane" she said and it finally sunk in.

Without thinking I opened the door and walked in, starring blankly at the girls who were starring at me, shocked. I pointed at Imai, then at Mikan, and Imai sighed and looked down before standing up and placing a hand on Mikan's shoulder.

"We've been found out" she said coldly and Mikan's eyes widened as she shook her head, as if she denied it long enough, then it wouldn't be the case. But thats not the case, ever since they got here, I saw something weird in these girls, and now I'm pretty sure I know what it is.

"Y-your not the princess" I said pointing at Imai, who pinched the bridge of her nose. "You are" I said pointing at Mikan whose mouth fell open before she ran over to the door and closed it before she pushed me so I was sitting on the bed and her and Imai were standing in front of me.

"Please don't tell anyone! Expecially Natsume! You don't understand, we're not trying to decieve anyone, or cause trouble. Do you know how hard it is to be a princess? To have all these responsibilties that you don't even want? Like getting married to a man you never met, who usually thinks he's better then everyone else? It's hard! But you can't avoid it! When I learned about the arranged marriage, I was so upset. I don't want to marry because of a duty, I want to marry out of love!" she whispered softly.

"One day my friends Yuu, Nonoko, and Anna came up and told me an idea, then said I should have someone come with me to thee castle and pose as the princess since I was never allowed to leave the castle grounds, because my father was over protective of me. Anyways, Hotaru is my maid, and bestfriend, and she is my size and has been around royalty all her life so she knew how to act, so I begged her to help, and after hours of begging, and bribing with money she agreed.

"The reason of the plan was so I can get to know the prince as a normal girl, and see if I like him. I hate being a princess, I want to live like a normal girl. Today at the lake with all the kids, I had the best time of my life, and I wish I could do that everyday. I wish I could marry someone I love and have a family and not worry about anything else. This is my closest shot at that. So please, don't tell Natsume, or anyone, I beg of you" she said and folded her hands together in front of her.

This girl, she may have a personality that was the polar oppisit of Natsume's but she wanted the same thing as him. She wanted to be normal. I smiled at her,at first shy, but then bright and reasurring. I wasn't going to tell her about how Natsume wanted the same as her, she would have to find that out herself, but I wasn't going to pass up the chance to help my best friend.

"Sure, I promise to keep it a secret from him" I said and stood up and smiled at her again. She blinked before smiling brightly and throwing her arms around me in a tight hug. Immediately my face turned bright red, no I didn't like the girl, but a sudden hug from a princess this beautiful was enough to make any guy blush. I smiled and returned the hug, just as the door opened, revealing Natsume.

He looked up at us, surprise was evident on his face as he looked at me and Mikan, who only now released me from a tight hug. He then glared at both of us and my eyes widened as a blush formed on my cheeks. He didn't think that me and Mikan were..?

"Mother wants you two to come to dinner, Ruka you are invited as well as always" he said and with one last cold glare, he walked away down the hall. Great, my best friend, whom is the prince, thinks I'm in a relation ship with the maid, Mikan, who is really the princess pretending to be a maid, while her maid, Hotaru, prentends to be the princess.

"Way to go bunny boy" Imai said and I glared at her as Mikan looked back and forth between us, a confused expression plastered on her face. How could she not understand what just happened? Wasn't it sort of obvious? Man, Natsume was right, these two were a bother, but being as I know their seceret now, I guess I'm stuck with them.

"What's wrong? What happened? Did Ruka do something bad to Natsume? I don't get it" Mikan said and I sighed before telling her not to worry about it and that we should go to dinner, which she agreeded to instantly.


	4. Chapter 4: I Just Can't Win

_**Next chapter yay! Okay so I'd like to make a special thanks to my friend Max cuz there is a scene in here that accidently happened to us, and I thought it would be funny to put in XD and to start drama :) so THANKS MAX! Oh and I'm super sorry about being so late again : / I had Drama Club after school and wasn't able to type, butttttt the fall production is over so I should be able to type more. Anyways enjoy! Review! and I do not own Gakuen Alice!**_

**Chapter 4: I Just Can't Win: Ruka's POV-**

I sighed and smiled at the two girls after Natsume left. Mikan, of course, smiled back at me, excited and as peppy as ever now that she knew I wouldn't tell her little secret. Imai, however had a blank expression on her face like she always does, and I couldn't really tell if she was grateful, or angry, or feeling any emotion what-so-ever. My opinion is she just didn't have emotions.

"Well then, we've already angered Natsume enough for one day, so why don't we head down before we upset the rest of his family" I said and Imai nodded, while Mikan blinked in confusion, obviously lost, but simply shrugged it off and followed us anyways. While we were walking, I sighed loudly, so Imai grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me beside her and gave me a look that said "explain why your disturbing me by sighing so loudly."

"Well, I've known Natsume for a long time, and I can tell that something about Mikan sparks his interest. But the thing is, he doesn't like her, not yet anyways, and maybe he never will. But what confuses me, is why he got so angry when he saw me hugging her. I mean, he doesn't like her like that, or at all as of this moment, but he still got upset" I said and looked at her. Her expression didn't change...at all. I couldn't help but smile at this, but hid it quickly when she narrowed her eyes.

"She interests him, it makes his subconcious tell him to be angry" she said plainly and I blinked, thinking about what she said. It made sense, but I still found it confusing, your subconcious telling you to get jealous simply because of a tiny spark of interest? Apparantly, confusion was evident on my face, because she narrowed her eyes as if disappointed. "It's how the mind works" she said slowly, as if if she said it slower, I would understand better.

As I continued to think about it, it actually made a lot of sense. Just because someone doesn't like a person, doesn't mean that that one sliver of interest in that person won't cause jealousy. I mean, that's how most three year olds act. They say that their friend who is a girl is gross and that they will beat them up, but if they get upset and go hang out with someone else, they get all protective and such.

"Wow...I never thought of it that way, that makes a lot of sense" I said and looked at her to see that her arm was raised towards me, hand flat, with her palm facing upward. I starred at her hand, then back at her, wondering what she was doing. I could tell she was losing patients.

"I don't help people for free, that will be three hundred and sixty five yen" she said before yawning. I laughed nervously and rubbed the back of my head. She sure was different, but never-the-less I pulled out the money she asked for and placed it in her hands.

When we got to the dinning hall, Natsume's father was sitting at the head of the table, with the queen to his left and an empty chair to his right. The maids led Imai to the seat to the kings right and led Natsume to the seat next to her. His mother on the other hand motioned for Mikan to sit besides her. I took the seat next to Natsume as usual, while Aoi made herself comfortable next to Mikan.

"Well how are you two ladies doing?" his mother asked sweetly, and Mikan smiled brightly at her. She looked so relaxed and happy, even though she was sitting next to her future mother-in-law. But then again, it seems to me that Mikan doesn't care who she's talking to, she just likes to talk and socialize with people.

I found it kinda funny, so without thinking I smiled and looked at her, and it's as if she felt my gaze, because she turned and smiled back at me. I would've laughed, after all, she was extremely carefree and happy, but what stopped me from doing so was the tense aura from beside me.

I turned and saw that Natsume was glaring at the wall, fist clenched, body tense. He wasn't happy. At all. I sighed before looking towards Imai. I knew why he was mad, it was simple, he still had reason to believe that I had feelings for Mikan. But that is because I haven't had the chance to set him straight, and I wasn't going to bring it up now, that would be a very unpleasant dinner conversation, and he'd probably just get angrier.

As dinner continued, Mikan kept rambling on about different things with Natsume's mother, and judging by the look in his mothers eyes, I could tell she really cared for Mikan already. What I found funny however, was, she would look over at Imai, who was being quiet, and her nose would wrinkle slightly. Of course it wasn't in disgust, it was in disappointment. She obviously wished Mikan was the princess.

Through out dinner, Mikan and the queen continued there conversation, while Hotaru continued eating. However, the tense aura coming right beside me never decreased in the slightest. In fact, it actually seemed to grow in intensity as the night went on. After a while it actually started to get very intimidating. I swear, by tomorrow the entire castle will cringe as soon as Natsume walks into the room. Then again, some of them do that on a normal day.

Especially since Natsume's mood was everything but pleasant since he heard the news that he was to get engaged. Throughout the night I found myself laughing slightly when I thought about how shocked Natsume would be when he learned that the girl he thought he was going to marry was actually a maid.

However, whenever I did laugh, I earned a glare from both Natsume and Hotaru, which kind of confused me. I knew why Natsume was glaring at me, but why Hotaru? Could it be she knew what I was thinking about even though I didn't voice it?

After dinner, the girls retired to their room to relax and unpack their things, leaving the perfect chance for me to clear things up with Natsume. Happy that I would finally be able to smile and laugh without a deadly aura enveloping me, I turned to look over at Natsume, only to find he had already made his leave and was no where to be seen.

"If he keeps this up I'm never going to be able to clear things up!" I complained and quickly started running, trying to find him. I checked the barn first with no luck, then the cherry blossom tree as well. Each place we usually hung out, there was no trace he ever set foot in the area, besides the memories we shared.

I quickly started running again, trying to figure out where else he could possibly be, when I crashed into something. Actually, the girl-like shreak tells me it was a _someone_. I quickly composed myself and looked down to find Mikan sitting on the floor rubbing her head. I could tell she was shocked and confused considering she was blinking rather quickly.

"Oh! I'm sorry Princess, I wasn't looking where I was going" I whisperered and she looked up shocked, but then when she realized it was me, relaxed slightly and smiled, as if brushing off the fact that I just caused her to fall on the ground. How was she so relaxed and uncaring all the time? After all, she had a lot of things to worry about, did she not?

"Oh it's fine Ruka! I wasn't paying attention myself, I was looking for Natsume, after all, my little plan would be useless if I knew nothing about him after all, and stop with the formality, it's not needed" she said with a light laugh. "What are you doing out here?" she asked and I laughed lightly, thinking about how I was looking for Natsume myself. "What's so funny?" she said with a slight pout, obviously upset that she wasn't in on the joke.

"Nothing, I was just laughing because I'm also looking for Natsume" I said with a smile and she laughed. I then noticed that she was still on the ground and blushed. How could I be so careless and not help her up? "Oh here let me help you up" I said, and moved forward, but the sudden movement called me to fall stumble and fall forward, landing on my hands and knees. I blinked in surprise, and took a few moments to check over myself to make sure there wasn't any injury.

I then noticed where I had fallen. Both my hands were on either side of her head, and my knees were on either side of her hips, causing me to straddle her. I blushed brightly and tried to find the right words to apologize and explain that was an accident. I froze however when I heard foot steps to the right.

I looked up slowly, only for my gaze to meet a pair of crimson eyes that held a ton of different emotions in them. But I could definitely see confusion and anger was slowly taking over, and it was directed towards me only. At first I didn't see why, but when I heard something shift below me I remembered I was on top of Mikan still. This caused me to blush brightly and look at Natsume, begging him with my eyes to understand.

"Tch" was all he said before turning on his heels and walking away, not even bothering to look back, or even taking the time to ask for an explanation. But then again, it was Natsume after all, he never listened to someones reasoning because he believed it saved him from more pain then he already feels. I quickly jumped to my feet, leaving a very confused looking Mikan still on the ground and started to chase after him.

"I just can't win!" I yelled as I tried to catch up to him.


	5. Chapter 5: I Wish I Was Normal

_**Heeyyyyyy everyone. I'm so so so so so so so so sooooooo sorry for the super late update. A lot of pressure lately...and writers block XP But lately I've been reading more fanfictions again, and I started reading more prince and princess ones (most of which included faeries and wizards written by Blue -Niagra ;D) Well anywho, I doubt you guys actually read this so...on with the story! I do not own Gakuen Alice :)**_

**Chapter 5: I wish I was normal: Natsume's POV-**

I don't know why I reacted like I did, but when I saw him on top of her, I just got angry. I didn't want to sit around and ask questions, I wanted to get away, before my eyes decieved me. I knew that in a couple of moments, my eyes would show that I cared, and that was the last thing I wanted. Especially since she was right there. But what was with this girl? Why was she causing people to act so unusual?

I could tell something was different about her at dinner because my mother seemed to take interest in her right away. In fact she didn't speak a word to Imai and she's to girl I'm being forced to marry, not this maid who acts like a child. But as I watched my mother talk to her, I saw a certain light shine in my mothers eyes, like she just found a girl that reminded her of something very important. In fact I even saw her glance at Imai once or twice and her nose would wrinkle! My mother never wrinkles her nose at others!

Also, Aoi seems to like her too which is strange because Aoi is usually very shy since she's afraid people will not treat her normally because she can't speak. Yet during dinner, this Mikan girl included Aoi in what she and Mother were talking about by signing everything she said.

What I find most shocking is the way Ruka is acting is a lot different then normal. Laughing at nothing and being so...so forward! Usually he's a very shy person, but obviously not with Mikan considering I just saw him _on top_ of her in public. I mean what's with him? That's hardly decent. When I saw that, I kept teling myself I was angry because of what this girl was doing to my best friend and how indecent they were acting. But I'm not an idiot...I know that that's not really why I am so angry.

I slammed my fist into the tree beside me, flinching slightly because of the pain, but I was well aware that if someone walked by and saw me do that, they would think it didn't hurt me in the slightest since my facial features stayed stoic. I felt liquid running down my hand. Great...now when I go inside a maid is going to see my hand and demand to know why it's bleeding.

I leaned against the tree and examined my hand, trying to see how much damage was inflicted. A couple of deep gashes but other then that nothing too serious. I could probably hide the wound very easiler and care for it myself. That is if I can get inside the castle without being seen. I heard foot steps approaching quickly, so I looked up and saw none other then Ruka running towards me. I wanted to turn away and ignore him, but the urgency in his eyes told me he had to tell me something important.

"Natsume! Natsume! Trust me, it's not what you think! I swear. I am not in the least bit interested in Mikan, she's just a friend, she hugged me because I made a promise to her and Imai and she was grateful. And what you just saw, that was a misunderstanding! We bumped into each other while looking for you and she fell, I went to help her up but slipped and fell on top of her, it meant nothing!" he said before gasping due to loss of breath.

If I said I wasn't shocked, I'd be lying. But there was something in the back of my mind that was very happy to hear that there was nothing going on between those two. I guess I can't really pretend that I have no interest in this Mikan girl, I'm not happy about it, bit there is definitely something about her, and even I can't brush that off and act like it's nothing.

"You don't have to explain anything to me, like I care anyways" I muttered and he raised his eyebrow before grinning and shaking his head. Damn. He saw right through it didn't he. I glared at him for a moment, but I couldn't help but smirk at him. After all, we're polar oppisites, yet we're still best friends, and he can still see through me better then anyone.

"Natsume! Ruka! Where are you?" I heard someone yell and looked over to see Mikan walking towards us. When she noticed us she smiled brightly and waved. "There you guys are, I've been looking everywhere for you Natsume" she said and Ruka smiled and waved slightly. Me on the other hand just kept my expression stoic as I starred at the girl. She was definitely something else. I really envied her. After all, she was so carefree, and happy all the time. I bet her parents would never force her into a marriage with some quiet, stoic, emotionless person.

"Oh my gosh! Natsume! Your hand, it's bleeding!" she shouted and grabbed my hand, pulling it rather close to her face to inspect it. Then without warning, she dropped to her knees, pulling me down with her. As soon as she was settled on the ground, she dropped my hand and grabbed the hem of her dress and neatly ripped a two inch wide strip that was about a foot long. She then pulled out her ribbons that kept her hair tied up.

She quickly took one of the ribbons and wiped the wounds on my hand, cleaning off the blood. She then stood up and reached into the pouch in her apron, pulling out a strange looking plant I've never seen before and tore off the end of the plant.

"Back at the Sakura kingdom, my mother has a very large garden. Inside she always had this strange plant, I can't remember the name, but she always used it when people would get hurt and cuts like these. She said it helped sooth the pain and heal it faster" she said and tore her other ribbon into a smaller pieaces. She then took the plant and squeezed it, causing this disgusting looking clear crap to come out.

"I never liked when my mom used it because it was really gross looking, but it really works" she said, smiling at me with this completely innocent look as she squeezed the gross clear crap on the ribbon pieces. She then took each piece of ribbon and gently placed the side that had the clear stuff on the wounds of my hand. Once each wound was covered, she took the piece of her dress that she ripped off and wrapped it around my hand before neatly tying the ends together.

"There! That should hold for a while, but you should probably get real bandages when you can. Oh and I wouldn't let your mom see that, she'd probably freak out" she said and smiled brightly. I examined the makeshift bandage and then looked at the girl. She surely was something else. After all, what other teenage maid would know how to dress a wound using nothing but her hair ribbons and a torn piece of cloth, along with some plant she pulled out of her pocket?

I noticed that she was extremely beautiful with her hair down. Her waist length auburn hair framed her face lightly and curled every so slightly giving it a wavy touch, causing the sun the reflect off it, which made the gold and red mix stand out even more then usual. It also caused the green and gold in her eyes to stand out as well and sparkle. But then again they always sparkled.

"Thanks" I muttered, but then I knew that was a mistake, because Ruka's mouth fell open, showing he was shocked. After all, I never really thank anyone, let alone girls. Thankfully, though, Mikan wasn't even paying attention to what Ruka was doing, instead she was smiling at me, as she ran her fingers through her hair. That gesture gave me the strange urge to run my fingers through her her hair, to see if it really was as soft as it looks.

"Well I better go, if anyone sees me with a ripped dress and tells Hotaru, she'll have my head" she said with a light laugh. "Bye bye!" she said before bouncing off in the direction of the castle before turning around quickly. "Oh and Natsume! Make sure you take care of that hand of yours, you don't want it to get infected" she yelled before waving and turning around and starting off again towards the castle.

"Wow...you actually thanked her..." Ruka said and I looked at him and noticed a big grin on his face. Shit...him and his assumtions...he was never going to let me live this down. "Oh relax Natsume, why don't you try to get to know her? You might actually like her" he said and I rolled my eyes. I didn't need to get to know her..unfortunately...whether I want to admit it or not, I already liked her.

Too bad she wasn't the princess, because I know for the fact that I did not like Imai. If I could avoid this marriage between me and Imai, I would. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do, unless Imai was opposed to the marriage as well, but she seems like she doesn't even care.

People like that really bothered me, I mean, people who marry someone and they don't even care if they're in love or not. That's just sick. She's probably only accepting the marriage because it means more money and power.

"God dammit..." I muttered and Ruka looked at me, confused. I just shook my head, telling him to drop it. Judging by the grin on his face, however, he already knew what I was thinking about.

"Good things happen to those who wait Natsume" he said before walking towards the barn, leaving me glaring at him. I couldn't shake the feeling that he knew something, and he was itching to tell me, but also was eager to have his little inside jokes and tease me, knowing that I wouldn't know what he was talking about.

I had the strange urge to talk to Mikan...a normal converstation... I don't know why, but I sorta kinda wanted to get to know her a little bit...and perhaps...let her get to know me. As soon as the idea came into my head, I slammed the palm of my good hand into my forehead. I had to be going crazy...it must've been the lake water.


	6. Chapter 6: Meet The Parents

_**Yay! I finished another chapter! and in such short time! Well, it seems that this story has only a few chapters left, after all, you all know the secret, and I'm not gonna make it so Mikan's heartless and doesn't tell Natsume that she's the princess until waaaaay down the line, and I'm not gonna make Natsume drabble on, on how much he likes her or whatever, so I estimate there will be around four to six new chapters before I end this story. Anyways! Enjoy the chapter! I do not own Gakuen Alice :)**_

**Chapter 6: Meet The Parents: Natsume's POV-**

After that, I went straight to my bedroom. I didn't really want to talk to anyone...except for that air headed maid...crap...was I poisened or something? I also had a weird urge that something was gonna happen tomorrow..something that was going to annoy the hell out of me.

And I couldn't have been more correct, because at six in the morning, Mother barged into my room demanding I get ready and come down to the grande lobby to wait for the arrival of the queen and king of the Sakura Kingdom.

When I did get to the grande lobby, Mika...er I mean the air headed maid, was already there standing next to Imai, but something about her made it look like she was...worried? Mother looked very excited and Father looked intrigued to be finally meeting the people that his wife is constantly talking about. Imai, however, for once looked tense.

"Good morning Natsume" Mikan said glumly as I passed her, and I nodded my head once to acknowledge her. I saw Imai raise her eyebrow she looked between me and Mikan, but I just shrugged it off. After all, I really didn't care what this princess thought. I heard a bell and then my Mother squealed.

"Oh my gosh! They're here! They're here!" she screamed and I noticed Mikan seemed to pale slightly while Imai looked down, her normal sto nic expression faltering a bit. Did she not want to see her own parents? Just then the doors opened revealing a tall blonde man with brown eyes and short messy hair.

He was wearing all white with a golden crown on his head that had what looked like rose chorts stones in the shape of cherry blossoms, much like the small stones encrusted in the princesses tiara. The women next to him was wearing a light pink gown that was pretty simple, yet elegant while wearing a smaller version of the king's crown.

But that's not what shocked me...what shocked me was that the women looked exactly like an older version of Mikan. She had long auburn hair and amazing chocolate brown eyes with the same green and gold flecks. The only difference is that her eyes didn't sparkle...they looked dull and sorta annoyed. The exact opposite of Mikan and my mother.

"Oh Yuka I'm so happy to see you!" Mother yelled before rushing to hug her childhood friend who looked rather shocked but hugged her back. The man grinned and I noticed his eyes did in fact have the sparkle like Mikan's...which made me feel uncomfortable because I was looking into his eyes. "Your daughter is a...a delight" Mother said at a loss of words.

Yuka and her husband looked over and confusion crossed their faces as they stared at the princess and the maid. They then both exchanged looks with each other before looking at the girls one more time. This made my mother giggle.

"Oh Yuka, it's only been a few days, you're acting as if you haven't seen your daughter in years!" Mother exclaimed and Yuka looked at her with even more confusion. Now this was starting to make me believe that this women was crazy. I then watched Ruka walk over to Mikan and whisper something, rather loudly because I could hear it.

"There's your shovel, now start digging" Mikan then looked up at him and nodded before laughing lightly. That caught Yuka and the King's attention, as well as my mother's and father's. Mikan then placed a gentle hand on Imai's shoulder.

"Yeah, your majesty, Hotaru-sama sure did miss you both, but not as much as you seem to have missed her!" she said and I eyed Yuka, and watched as something changed in her eyes.

"Oh I'm so sorry Hotaru-chan! I just missed my daughter so much" she said and walked over, hugging Imai as she smiled brightly. Mikan smiled as Yuka then turned to her, but as Yuka hugged her, her smile faded. She must've said something to the girl.

"Well, why don't we let Yuka-chan and Izumi-kun reconnect with the girls, then allow Yuka-chan and I to catch up" Mother said and everyone nodded, except for Mikan who looked quite nervous. Everyone then started walking off. Mikan with Imai, Yuka, and Izumi. Aoi with Mother and Father, and Ruka waved before heading to the barn.

I, for one, went to my room, grabbed a book, and headed to the cherry blossom trees. Once I was there, I sat down at the base the trunk of one of the trees and opened my book before I started reading.

After about an hour or so, I heard someone walking on the path muttering to themself. When I looked up I saw Mikan walking down the path, kicking pebbles as she walked. She looked a little upset, and that caught my interest, but I didn't dare speak, thankfull however, she noticed me sitting there.

"Oh hey there Natsume" she said and I nodded. She then walked over and invited herself to sit down next to me. "Why are you here all alone? Aren't you always hanging around with Ruka or something?" she asked and I shrugged.

"It's quiet. I like to read" I said plainly and she snatched the book I was reading and started looking through it. Amazingly I didn't argue, I just watched her expressions as she flipped through the pages, reading bits and pieces of it.

"Huh, I didn't know you liked to read this kinda stuff..." she said and I expected her to say that she hated it or something, but she smiled. "I love mystery books! I absolutely love it when I can plan out the ending by useing clues it gives throughout the book" she said and my eyes widened a little. We actually had something in common?

"Why did you seem upset when you were walking just now?" I asked and she looked at me, a sorta shocked look on her face, but it cleared up quickly and smiled as she looked at the ground.

"Oh, that, hehe. Well, it's just that sometimes I remember how bossy my parents could be sometimes. No matter what my reason is for something, they just aren't happy. Sure they let me continue with what I'm doing, but they don't approve of it" she said and I scoffed. "What?" she asked and I leaned back, putting my hands behind my head and closing my eyes.

"Trust me, I know what you mean" I grumbled and I could feel her stare at me, confused. We sat there in silence for a little while, listening as the wind blew the branches in the trees surrounding us.

"Why is that? Your mother and father seem so nice, I really like them" she said and I scoffed again. Yes my parents were great, they always treated me fairly, but this whole stunt with the arranged marriage thing, that just down right pissed me off.

"They are nice, but I hate having an arranged marriage. I mean, I don't think marriage should be based on being a prince or a princess. If you laugh at me, I swear I will set your hair on fire, but I just wish that I could marry someone because I love them and _want _to be with them. I absolutely hate the idea of marrying someone because of a stupid duty" I said and she starred at me, a small smile forming on her face.

"So are you saying you don't _like_ being a prince? That's weird, every guy I know would love to be in your shoes. I would think being a prince is the best thing in the world you have so much power after all" she said and I rolled my eyes. Typical for some girl, thinking my life is the best thing in the world.

"Tch, yeah right, I hate being a prince, I hate the responsibilities, I hate the fact I never really had a childhood. I also hate all these princesses making their way into my life. Most of them are down right snotty and annoying and think they're better then everyone else. I hate when people boss around their maids and butlers because they think they're special. I don't even use my servants a lot" I said and wrinkled my nose, which made her laugh.

"I know what you mean, Hotaru doesn't like when people use the servants a lot, I always feel bad for them whenever my mom would tell me how the servants in our kingdom were very well treated and there were kingdoms out there where servants were constantly screamed at. It's sad right? If I were a princess, then I would try to treat them equally and try not to use them so much" she said and I smirked slightly before quickly looking away.

"You're not like other princes are you, Natsume?" she said sweetly and I looked at her and shook my head. As we stared at each other, I went over how she wasn't like a normal maid either. She seemed very comfortable talking to those who were royals and above her, and she didn't even mind sitting here talking to me for so long.

"That's good!" she said and I looked at her like she had two heads. Was that really a good thing? "I hate other princes, they're so snobbish and annoying, and they act like no matter what you have to be in love with them" she said before making a fake gagging noise. I just shook my head and rolled my eyes before looking at the sky.

"I'd rather I be ignored" I said and I could tell this got her attention, because I could feel her gaze on me. Is it really that unbelievable that someone wanted to be left alone?

"Why?" she muttered, but I could tell in her voice that she was absolutely shocked. "I see you walk around, and your act as if you don't care, and then sometimes you make a scene...it sorta seems like you want attention" she said and I closed my eyes. Should I even bother telling her why I act the way I do?

"I only ever wanted attention from two people. When I was growing up, my parents were always so busy, so they never had time for Aoi and I, that's why my personality is the way it is. I use to be more talkative, but when we found out about Aoi being mute, I...just stopped being social, I didn't want to be social." I said and sighed.

"Sometimes I try to change it...but that's just me. I accept the fact that my parents don't have time to be with Aoi and I, but the personality I developed at such a young age, it's just me now..." I muttered and opened one eye to glance at her.

"I know what you mean" she whispered and smiled brightly. At this time, all of my attention was focused on her. How could a girl so cheerful like her know how I felt? "But I didn't really mind. After all, I had Hotaru, and she would always yell at me when I got upset that Mama wasn't available to play or whatever. She'd call me a brat and selfish, saying that I had no idea how busy they were and I shouldn't feel sorry for myself when right now they were probably going through hell" she said and I nodded.

"That's understandable...I didn't talk to anyone about it until now. I didn't want to look weak, I'm suppose to take over this kingdom someday, I can't let something so small upset me. So I would make sure that any time my parents did have free time, I'd make sure they used it to spend time with Aoi, while I went off by myself" I muttered and she smiled brightly at me.

"That's so sweet!" she exclaimed and I suddenly found it sickening that I just spilled out so much about my life. I've never spoken about so much to a person at one time. And I've never heard someone say that an action I've done was "sweet". With that, I stood up and started walking.

"Hey! Where are you going?" She called and I just shrugged as I continued walking. I know it was kind of a jackass move, but I felt very disgusted with myself at the moment. How could I open up to this air head? I haven't even told Ruka this much stuff about me, but then again, I've told Ruka a lot of stuff I haven't told her also.

"Oh there you are!" I heard someone say and I turned to see none other then Queen Sakura walking towards me. Out of respect, I bowed but soon enough I felt her hand on my shoulder pushing me so I was standing up straight. "No need, I just wanted to talk to you for a moment" she said and smiled, a smile that looked exactly like Mikan's.

"So I saw you talking to my daughter...'s maid just a while ago. She's a sweet girl huh?" she said and I looked at her, kinda embarrassed that she saw me talking to a girl for so long.

"She's..." I said and I could feel myself blush lightly and immediately I mentally slapped myself. I couldn't let people see that I liked her, I wasn't very happy about the idea myself, because in a few months or so, I'll most likely be married to that ice queen, Imai...and I didn't want to get any closer with this girl. That would just make the marriage harder.

"I know, chin up kid, good things happen to those who wait" she said with a bright smile, before patting my cheek and walking away. There's that line again, yesterday Ruka had said that to me, and I didn't understand it, and I still don't understand it.

I felt like such an idiot, falling for some air headed maid who doesn't worry about anything. Especially when I myself am technically engaged to Imai. God dammit, maybe I wouldn't be so angry with falling for her so quickly if the situation was different.


	7. Chapter 7: Embarrassment?

_**Next Chapter! Okay so I know Ioran isn't Natsume's father's real name (After all, no one really knows his name) but I decided to use it since it was the only thing I had, and I decided that instead of making one up I'd just use this one. Anyways, I do not own Gakuen Alice, and please enjoy the chapter :)**_

**Chapter 7: Embarrassment?: Ruka's POV-**

I gave Lucinda, the Queen's horse, one last pat on the neck, before leaving the barn and walking towards the cherry blossom trees, hoping to run into Natsume. I wanted to talk to him about Mikan. He seemed to be resisting being around her even more then he was before, and I was persistant on getting those two together.

As I walked, I saw Hotaru in front of me walking down the path, her eyes searching, probably looking for Mikan. It didn't take her long to notice me, so she picked up her pace, and soon enough both of us were standing in front of each other, nerely eye to eye..if it wasn't for the fact she was a good three to five inches shorter then me.

"Have you seen Natsume/Mikan?" we both said simultaneously, causing me to laugh, while she just starred, with this weird look in her eyes, could it be her version of humor?

"I haven't seen him, Mikan went off a couple hours ago, after we explained why we were posing as each other to her parents, she was upset, her mother didn't agree with her plan, and one of Mikan's only wishes is to please her parents. I'm trying to find her to see if she's still pouting" she said and I nodded.

"So that's your way of saying your worried. I'm sure she's fine, I, myself, have been looking for Natsume. Not really because I'm worried or anything, I just-" I said but was cut off when I heard someone calling our names.

We both turned around to see Mikan running towards us, a mix of emotions running across her face. She looked happy, excited even, but she also looked angry, confused, and upset. But none the less, her signature smile was still right there, shining brightly, as she ran towards us.

"Hey Mikan, did you happen to see Natsume? I've been looking for him" I said and her cheeks puffed out slightly, while her eyes narrowed a bit...crap. "What'd he do now?" I asked and she looked and me and crossed her arms before she looked behind her, at nothing.

"Nothing! Isn't that weird? Okay, here's the thing, we were sitting at the cherry blossom tree, just talking, he told me a bunch of stuff about him, and I told him everything I could about me without giving anything away, and as we were talking, I was thinking 'wow, this guy...he's not like any other prince I've met, and he wants a lot of the things I do' and I was actually thinking that I might enjoy being with him, but then, out of no where, he gets up and walks away! he didn't even tell me where he was going, he just left!" she yelled and I laughed, recieving a glare from both girls.

"That's what Natsume does when he thinks he's getting too close to someone, and saying too much" he said and she froze as she started pondering what I just said. "Natsume doesn't believe he's worth befriending, and he thinks that someday, people will realize that, so he doesn't allow people to get too close in an attempt to protect himself, because even if he doesn't show it, he's terrified of getting hurt" I said and she frowned.

"He doesn't trust me?" she asked and I noticed the hurt in her voice. "Why doesn't he trust me? What reason have I given him?" she asked and I noticed tears in her eyes. This shocked me because the last time I talked to her, she was close to hating him.

"It's not you Mikan, but there's a problem...I can't tell you what it is, but it scares him, so that's why he doesn't want to get close to you, but considering you said yourself that he told you a lot about himself, I'm sure you guys are going to be able to talk again soon" I said with a smile and she sighed.

"I wish this wasn't so complicated" she muttered, and I saw Hotaru fold her arms over her chest. I looked over and saw a strange glint in her eyes and a smug smile form on her lips. Strangely, she looked a lot like Natsume when she did that, but then again, Natsume barely smiled.

"Mikan...are you developing _feelings_ for that arrogant prince?" she asked and I watched in amusement as Mikan's face instantly flushed a bright red color and her eyes widened as she started fidgetting and looking around for an escape.

"N-no! Not at all! I..I mean h-he's um...rude! yeah that's right rude, and...oh no...um..no! Absolutely not. How could you even think that for even a minute, I could f-fall for a guy like that" she stammered and I watched her blush deepen. I smiled brightly and Hotaru kept her smug smile on her face as we both looked at her.

"You suck at lying Mikan" we both said at the same time and Mikan blushed even brighter as she buried her face in her hands mumbling to herself. "Face it, you like him" we both said, and then looked at each other. "Okay, this is weird...stop it" we said together then shook our heads.

"Y-you guys are i-impossible!" she yelled before turning around and stomping towards the castle, most likely to lock herself in her room. Maybe I wouldn't have to do anything in order to get those two together, maybe the chips will fall into place by themselves.

"Okay Nogi, spill, what is this secret that Mr. Arrogant has that's making trusting Mikan difficult. This could ruin our plans because believe it or not, I believe Mikan would be extremely happy with him" she said and I looked around before motioning her to follow me into the barn, and with a disgusted face, she complied. Once we were safely inside, I began talking.

"Natsume is starting to develope feelings for Mikan, as you can probably tell, but he's afraid because he believes that in a couple of months, he'll be married to you, and he doesn't want to get close to her, only to know that in the end he wont be able to stay with her" I whispered and she smiled lightly.

"I'm glad, he'll be shocked once she announces it, but if she wants this to work, she better do it soon" she said and I nodded in agreement. "We should get going, dinner should start...but first, we must make an agreement. I want those two together, and you're going to help me" she said and I smiled at her.

"You read my mind, now lets go so we can watch Mikan blush like crazy at dinner" I said and she nodded, a smile appearing on her lips yet again. We then headed towards the castle. I couldn't help but think that Hotaru was really cool, besides her attitude. I smiled brightly as we walked side by side towards the dinning hall.

As we walked in, Mikan was already there, a confused expression on her face with her hands pressed aganst her cheeks. Natsume wasn't present, but his sister was and she looked at Mikan, then at me, before looking at Natsume's empty seat and then at me again, a look of understanding in her eyes. She was one smart girl when it came to peoples relationships.

"Mikan's thinking about the comments we made, you can tell because of the blush that forms every once in a while, and the small smile that subconsciously makes it's way on her face" Hotaru whispered and I nodded as I watched Queen Hyuuga walk in with King Hyuuga, Queen Sakura, and King Sakura behind her.

Natsume's mother and father took their seats while Mikan's parents walked over to us. Yuka looked over at her daughter and smiled before turning back to us, her eyes wondering between Hotaru and I.

"Oh hello my daughter, what did you do to your maid?" she asked, eyeing me, obviously unaware that I already knew the secret. And let me tell you, her acting was pretty horrible. Hotaru seemed to agree because she rolled her eyes and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's okay your majesty, Ruka-kun already knows the secret" Hotaru said politely and both Queen Sakura and her husband sighed in relief. I, myself, was surprised that Natsume didn't find anything strange about how Mikan and the Queen and King looked so much alike, but then again, if I was in his situation right now I wouldn't be thinking about these things. Also, he doesn't talk to me as much as before, so he could very well already know.

"Oh thank goodness, I've been so desperate to talk to someone about it your secret! It's so hard to pretend your own daughter is a maid, I want to act like we normally do, but I can't or else it'll ruin everything you two worked so hard for" Queen Sakura said and smiled at me. "I'm glad they can trust you, now what did you two say to her?" She asked, glancing at Mikan who Aoi was now throwing pieces of bread at, trying to get her attention, without any luck.

"We accused her of falling for the arrogant prince" Hotaru said and Queen Sakura chuckled. "She of course denied it, but we all can see it. It's very amusing because for Mikan, it's like a play-ground crush, she keeps denying it and pretending she hates him, when she really likes him" she continued and this made the queen laugh some more.

"Oh my this is perfect, and that boy, Natsume, I can tell he's having difficulties himself, after all, he believes he's marrying you soon, so when I saw him talking with Mikan, I said 'she's a sweet girl huh?' and all he said was 'she's...' then blushed! It was adorable, I never thought Kaoru could have a kid so emotionless yet, he still can blush!" she said and my eyes widened.

"Natsume never blushed before. Not as long as I've known him, and I've known him since we were five. There have been girls, really pretty girls who would run up and hug him, and he just ignored them, dodged their hugs, or tell them to go away, he has never blushed because he's never been embarrassed before" I said and her eye brow shot up.

"Well, well, looks like my Mikan is different, but then again, that goes without saying" she said and giggled lightly. "Well I better go sit down" she said and she and her husband walked over and sat next to Mikan. Hotaru then nodded and went over to sit next Natsume's mother and Mikan. I followed and took my seat next to Aoi who was sitting next to an empty seat where Natsume should have been.

"Yuka, must you leave tonight? We still have so much to catch up on!" Queen Hyuuga complained and Mikan's mother smiled but shook her head, causing Natsume's mother to pout. Aoi on the other hand was still throwing pieces of bread at Mikan, who sat there completely unaware.

"I'm so sorry Kaoru, but Izumi and I must go and prepare for if and when our daughter decides she does infact want to marry your son" she said and glanced at Hotaru, then Mikan, who was still unphased.

"Oh I see, that's understandable, Ioran and I have been very busy making preparations, but nothings definite yet" she said and as soon as she finished her sentence, the doors opened revealing Natsume. This caught Mikan's attention, who looked up, and blushed brightly, before looking down at her empty plate.

"Mother, is it okay for Youichi to join us for dinner?" he asked and I noticed Mikan's blush deepened slightly. Kaoru looked pleased as she starred at Youichi who was hiding behind Natsume's leg, while Yuka looked shocked to see the small boy.

"Of course dear, any friend of yours is a friend of ours after all" she said with a smile, and Aoi and I moved down one in our seat so Youichi could sit next to Natsume. Mikan wouldn't look at Natsume at all, but her blush never faltered as she starred at the empty space in front of her.

"Oi, your the hag Natsume-nii helped when I tried to throw mud at you" Youichi said and this caused Mikan to looked up and blink. I watched in amusement as she and Natsume starred at each other, completely unaware that they were being watched by the entire table. Hotaru, Yuka, Izumi, Aoi, and I all had smiles on our faces, while Kaoru, Ioran, and Youichi looked rather lost.

Soon enough, bother looked away, Mikan looked lost, confused, but...happy? While Natsume looked...embarrassed...and angry. That's when I saw it, the first time I've ever seen him blush. It was faint, and unless you were observing him like I was, you would've missed it, but it was there. Yuka was the one who got rid of the awkwardness...and distracted everyone.

"Oh Kaoru, maybe you should come visit our kingdom sometime. Oh yes you'll love it! We have so many cherry blossom trees and they all bloom at the same time in the spring, so the entire kingdom is full of cherry blossom petals flying through the air! It's absolutely beautiful" she said and this immediately caught Natsume's mother's attention.

"Oh I should! I've alway wanted to see what your kingdom looked like, after everything blows over we..." she continued, but after that I stopped listening, I don't know why, but I found myself starring at Hotaru whispering stuff into Mikan's ear to make her blush, most likely about Natsume.


	8. Chapter 8: Confessions Of Royalty

_**New chapter! Yay! Okay, so I'm guessing that there will be probably around three more chapters left. I will then start another storie :) and I believe it will be a cross-over between Kodomo No Omocha and Gakuen Alice! Nothing fancy, just a one shot, but I hope you like it anyways. And if you don't, don't worry I have a list of other fanfictions that I still have to write :D Anywho, I do not own Gakuen Alice. Please enjoy the chapter ^-^**_

**Chapter 8: Confessions of a Royalty: Ruka's POV-**

As dinner progressed, things started to look up. Well...started to. Yuka and Kaoru had been carrying out a conversation, but that soon came to an end when Kaoru couldn't stop looking at Mikan.

"Um..Yuka? Is there something wrong with your maid...she seems rather concerned about something" she said and Yuka smiled gently as she starred at Mikan. Everyones gaze seemed to drift to Mikan, who continued to just sit there, starring at her now empty plate thanks to Hotaru who ate all her food.

"Yeah..I'll think she'll be fine, after all, she's just learning the very important lesson that in life, that you can't control your feelings" she said and Kaoru nodded as everyone continued to stare at Mikan, who was completely unphased. Even Natsume was starring at her with this worried look in his eyes.

I couldn't really blame him, she looked like her parents just died and she wasn't willing to accept it. Sometimes you could see her lips mouthing words that were hard to make out, but when the words she mouthed _were_ understandable, they almost were always "me", "falling", and "Natsume". This made me think that she was still trying to deny that she was falling for him.

"Does she always get like this when she has a problem?" Kaoru asked and Yuka nodded, glanced at Natsume before turning her attention back to Mikan, who shifted slightly so that she was resting her head on the back of her hand.

"Not always, only when the situation is shocking to her, she likes to think things through and she's very stubborn, so she likes to have a small debate with herself until the truth can make it's way out. It's quite funny to watch, because sometimes she actually argures with herself out loud" she said and Kaoru laughed lightly.

"Trust me, I know stubborn, Natsume has to be the most stubborn child I've ever known" she said and Natsume glared at her before turning his attention back to Mikan. I then noticed the glassy look in Mikan's eyes dissappear as she looked up and looked straight into Natsume's eyes. Hotaru smiled as a small blush formed on her best friends cheeks.

"Oh my god!" Mikan yelled before standing up and stuttering. "I..uh...c-can...I um...gotta go!" she shouted before dissappearing up the stairwell. It was silent for a few minutes before Yuka, Izumi, and I burst into laughter. Hotaru smiled and chuckled softly, while Aoi erupted in a silent laugh.

While we laughed hysterically, everyone else starred at us with worried expressions on their faces, well...all except Natsume, he just starred at the stairwell with a confused expression on his face that held a mix of worry. Hotaru was the first to recover and she immediately turned to me and nodded. Sadly, however, I wasn't the only one who noticed this.

Natsume glared at me, giving a silent message that said to explain why Mikan was acting so weird, but I simply smiled and shook my head. Hotaru then stood up and I quickly followed suit before turning to Kaoru.

"Excuse us, we're going to go see if Mikan's all right" Hotaru said and Yuka nodded, signaling for us to go ahead and talk to Mikan. "I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that she just realized we were telling the truth" Hotaru said as soon as we were out of ear shot and I nodded.

"By the way, what were you whipsering to her earlier that kept making her blush?" I asked and glanced over at her. I saw a strange glint in her eyes, and a devilish smirk on her face. I started to wonder if I really wanted to know or not.

"I just kept saying things like 'imagine what Hyuuga would look like without his shirt on' and so on" she said and I sighed. Yeah..I could've lived my whole life without knowing that. "It really did get a reaction out of her" she said and I rolled my eyes.

When we approached the girls room, we heard Mikan pacing back and forth behind the closed door muttering something. Hotaru sighed before pushing the door open and before Mikan even had the chance to turn around, she brought her fist down on top of Mikan's head, causing Mikan to fall forward onto the floor in shock.

"Hotaru! What was that for?" Mikan whined and Hotaru glared at the girl who seemed to completely forget that she just asked her a question. "Oh my god guys! I'm freaking out!" Mikan yelled as she closed the door and pulled us over to the bed.

"I...I'm in love with N-Natsume!" she whispered and I couldn't help but smile a bit. "I can't believe I actually fell for that arrogant jerk! I'm actually in love with a prince!" She said, a deep blush forming on her face. Me and Hotaru exchange looks before starring at the girl.

"No? Really?" we exclaimed in the most sarcastic tones we could manage. She leaned back in shock before pouting her lip like a little girl. "Seriously Mikan, relax, so your in love with the guy, so what? Isn't that good?" I asked and she shook her head, tears falling from her eyes.

"No guys it's not! I love him, but he hates me! I don't care how much I love him, I can't go through this marriage knowing that he is still being forced. It's not right. Today he told me he wants to marry because he loves, and wants to be with someone, I don't want to ruin that for him. Somewhere out there is a girl who he will love and she'll love him back, if we get married, he'll never have that chance" she sobbed and I froze.

This girl...she was will to throw her own feelings away, simply because she wants the people she cares about to be happy. How could she even believe that Natsume didn't love her back though? Was she really that dense? Hotaru looked like she wanted to punch her in the face and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Mikan, relax, you still have time, just be yourself and don't worry about 'love' and the chips will fall into place" I said and she looked up at me and smiled. "I've got to go now, just remember, be yourself" I said and waved as I walked out the door. I immediately went to the cherry blossom tree where I knew Natsume would be.

"Hey" I greeted as I sat down next to him, only to recieve a glare from him. Damn, he's still pissed because I know something he doesn't. Especially since that something was about Mikan.

"Tch" he grunted and I laughed lightly, which made me recieve an even deadlier glare in return. "What do you want Ruka?" he growled and I smiled. I couldn't help but laugh at his hostility, after all, if wasn't every day that _the _Natsume Hyuuga got angry because he was left out on a secret having to do with a girl.

"I came here to ask you a question. You seemed really worried about Mikan...do you have feelings for her?" I asked and I saw him stiffen before turning to glare at me, filling the area with a very dangerous aura.

"What the hell are you talking about, Ruka? he hissed and I smiled. I take that as a yes...but just to make sure, I might as well mess with him a little bit. Just for kicks. It might be a bad idea, and some might say that I have a death wish, but I couldn't help but want to get a rise out of him.

"Oh, so if you don't like her, would you mind if I court her?" I asked and I watched as he froze and accidentely tore the book he was reading in half. I could swear, if he could control fire, I would be burning to a crisp right now. I watched in amusement as he turned and glared at me, a vicious look in his eyes.

"Don't kid with me Ruka. Fine, I think I'm falling in love with that idiot. But it doesn't matter anyway's, because they are already making preparations for Imai and I to get married" he said and I laughed. "What are you laughing at?" he asked, his temper slowly taking the turn for the worst, which caused me to smile yet again.

"Nothing Natsume, just your temper, it's quite amusing sometimes. Also, it's gotten very strange since Mikan's arrived. She sure is different isn't she?" I asked and a small smirk formed on his face as he tossed his useless book to the side.

"You have no idea. She's the only girl I've ever met whose unafraid to argure and fight with me, she speaks her mind, and she's very kind and honest, too honest if you ask me, yet she's extremely stubborn and childish" he said and I smiled. I never thought I'd hear _the _Natsume Hyuuga talk about a girl the way he's talking about Mikan right now.

"God dammit, why do I have to marry Imai, is it really that important that I marry a princess? What's wrong with getting married to a maid or something like that? People are people, it's not like it really matters" he muttered and I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn't spill the secret. He either had to find out on his own, or Mikan has to tell him.

"I'm sure everything will work out just fine, Natsume. You just need to learn to be patient, you don't know what might happen. Who knows, maybe Imai might fall in love with a servant and cancel the engagment" I said in an attempt to lift his spirits, but he just rolled his eyes.

I could tell he didn't believe me, but all I could hope for right now is that Mikan reveals the secret as soon as possible, but in order for her to do that, Natsume would have to give her a reason, and that may be the deal breaker...


	9. Chapter 9: A Kiss At Midnight

_**Okay! This story is ALMOST over. Just 2 more chapters to do! I feel really horrible that this story was dragged out so much. After all, it's pretty short, it shouldn't have taken this long to complete _ Stupid school. And what's worse? Midterms next week! NO! Anyways, please enjoy the chapter, and I do not own Gakuen Alice ^_^**_

**Chapter 9: A Kiss At Midnight: Natsume's POV-**

After none stop begging, Mother was finally able to convince Yuka to stay at our kingdom for a couple of nights. I, of course, wasn't crazy about the idea, considering it meant that Mother would force me to spend time with Yuka, Izumi, and Imai, in order to "get to know" my new family.

But that's not what had me in such a bad mood. I was angry because Mikan and I haven't talked since I confessed to Ruka that I was indeed in love with her. This only gave me the suspicion that he opened his big mouth and told that airheaded maid what I said. I confronted him about it a couple of times, but he would laugh and insist that he would never do such a thing.

It seemed like Mikan herself was avoiding me, everytime she saw me, she would blush brightly before hurrying off somewhere else. At dinner, she would stare at her place with a nervous expression on her face, and it seemed as if Imai would taunt her about something at any chance she got.

I acted like it didn't bother me, after all, it shouldn't have, right? Yeah, I had feelings for the girl, but in a week, I would be married. Yes, sadly, the night after Imai's parents arrived, both Mother and Yuka agreed that in a week we should wed, which meant only one thing. That it should be a good thing that Mikan and I haven't talked. After all, if I forget my feelings, it should be easier to marry Imai, right?

Well, that should have been the case, but as the days went by, I felt like I was being suffocated. I found myself taking refugee by the lake I always brought the kids at the orphanage to, in an attempt to run away. Actually, I would sometimes find myself considering running away and disappearing from this whole wedding ordeal.

Unfortunately, I always talked myself out of it. How could I do that to my parents? They've done so much for me, it would be unfair to them if I ranaway, let alone selfish. Also, even though I don't care for Imai in anyway shape or form, it would be rude to run away from our marriage. After all, if I ran away, how would she feel?

I doubt any women, even Imai, would be happy to know that I'd rather run away then marry her. However, even though I tried to convince myself that this wedding was for the best, I couldn't...it just didn't feel right.

This is why I was lying in my bed right now, at midnight, starring at my ceiling. For the past four days, ever since Imai's mother came, I have been unable to sleep. Usually I found myself reading until I couldn't stay awake any longer, but tonight was different. The idea of reading was sickening, and the spaceish room made me feel rather claustrophobic.

I should have saw this coming, every night the insomnia got worse, whenever I believed I was close to falling asleep, I'd hear a soft noise from somewhere in the castle, which woke me up immediately.

This caused me to get even more irritable, to the point where even Ruka was very careful with his words around be. I felt terrible about it, but I couldn't change my behaviour unless I got some sleep, and that seemed nearly impossible right now.

With that, I got out of bed and quickly got dressed. It was very dark out, but I didn't need light to get my way out of the castle. This isn't the first time I snuck outside at night, sometimes when I was extremely angry, I just had to get some fresh air, and that's what I'm doing now...

As soon as I was outside, I felt sort of relieved that I was out of the castle. Lately it's just been so hectic in there...even when all is quiet, it feels like a zoo. As I walked, I made my way to the first place I had in mind...the cherry blossom tree.

I haven't been able to spend a lot of time there lately, I usually get up early so I can flee to the lake, but right now, all I wanted to do was sit under that tree and relax until I could fall asleep. Only problem is, as I approached my favorite tree, I saw a figure sitting under it starring at the sky.

"Oi, little girl, what are you doing here?" I asked and the person under the tree, Mikan, looked up at me startled. She looked tired, nervous, and upset at the same time, and I couldn't help but wonder what would cause her to act so indifferent.

"Natsume!" she exclaimed and I brushed off her shocked expression and sat down next to her, starring up into the sky. "What are you doing up so late?" she asked and I shrugged. I really couldn't answer her, after all, I didn't know why I couldn't sleep myself.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" I asked and she looked at me, a worried expression in her eyes that made me sigh. "Can't sleep" I muttered and looked at her, waiting for her to answer my question. She seemed confused but none the less, she smiled her signature smile which made me feel like I wanted to throw up.

"Me either...it's weird, it started a couple of nights ago, I haven't been able to get to sleep, I usually just come here and wait til I can barely keep my eyes open, but tonight seemed different, I'm wide awake" she mumbled and I noticed that she was only wearing a floor length, silk, evening gown that was a light pink color.

This caused me to blush slightly when I saw the way the fabric clung to her, but thankfully it was dark enough that she couldn't possibly have noticed. I had to try to ignore the fact that she looked beautiful under the moonlight with her waist long hair down. I couldn't help but think what a beautiful princess she would make.

"I know what you mean. I haven't been able to sleep at all either. Ever since Yuka came I spent most of my nights reading until I can't stay awake any longer. But tonight I couldn't help but feel suffocated. This wedding business is driving me insane" I growled as I closed my eyes, and rested my head against the trunk of the tree.

Somehow, she seemed to be able to tell that I didn't like the topic of marriage, and I could tell the topic made her uneasy for some reason as well. I didn't really know why, but I dismissed when she spoke again.

"You seem to be dissappearing everyday, where do you go?" she asked, smiling brightly like she always did. I examined her for a moment, and realized that behind her smile, she looked like she was stressing about something, and she was stressing about it even more then I was stressing about this marriage.

"The lake" I mumbled and tore my gaze away from her so I could stare up at the star filled sky. "Most of the time I bring Youichi and his friends, but sometimes I just go there alone" I said and I could feel her gaze on me.

"You know what we should do? You, Ruka, Hotaru, and I should all go to the lake some day and just relax! All of us are stressing over something, so it would be like a vacation!" she exclaimed and I looked at her. Why was she so opptimistic all the time? Has if ever crossed her mind that she should just give up hope?

"Your naive" I stated and she rolled her eyes before smiling brightly as her eyes lit up with excitement. I could tell that she was musing about what we could all do at the lake, but did she really expect Imai to go to a lake? Yeah...that'll happen...when hell freezes over that is.

"Oh come on! It'll be fun! We could bring lunches and have a picnic, then we could go swimming and even bring the kids from the orphanage with us!" she said and I noticed she was leaning forward slightly as she talked. "We could play games too! Then we could-" I then cut her off by grabbing her chin and pulling her lips to mine.

Don't ask me why I did it, I don't even know myself, but the more she talked, the closer towards me she leaned, and I just wanted her to shut up so I could kiss her. I felt her stiffen when I placed my lips on hers, but I didn't really care, she wasn't pushing me away, so I just continued kissing her. The strange this is, not long after, I felt her kiss me back.

I know I'd regret it eventually, but right now, I was in a state of bliss. As strange as it sounds, claiming her lips made me relax and forget about every single problem in my head. In fact, I found thinking in general to become a challenge. Also, I swore a felt this strange static charge when I lips met that ripped through my body.

However, I knew very well that I could stay in this bliss forever, because when I heard some sort of bird flap it's wings, I immediately came to my senses and pulled away. At first I starred at her, shocked. Shocked because I couldn't understand what urged me to kiss her, and why she kissed me back.

"Shit.." I muttered before standing up and walking back to the castle in the darkness. As I walked, I heard her stand up, and I could hear her call my name, but I couldn't face her, because she would of course want to know why I kissed her in the first place, and I didn't even understand my exact reasoning other then my feelings for the girl.

As I walked, I couldn't help but become angry with myself. How could I be so weak to the point where I couldn't control my own actions? How could I show my face to my parents, Imai's parents, and Mikan knowing that I kissed a maid when in a week I would become the husband to Hotaru Imai?

I cursed loudly before thrusting my fist into the closest object, which unfortunately was door that led inside the castle, creating a hole the size of my fist in the well crafted wood. I know that my mother would give me grief about it tomorrow, but right now, I didn't care, I just walked straight to my room before throwing myself on my bed.

I thought that I wouldn't be able to get to sleep at all after the incident, but surprisingly, as soon as I was lying down comfortablely, I found myself drifting off, slowly becoming unaware of my surroundings. In fact, it didn't take long for me to lose consciousness all together as I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I knew that I missed breakfast, but that was most likely a good thing. Sure, Mikan may think I'm a coward and couldn't face her after my actions last night, but knowing that I just woke up late, it didn't matter what she believed. After all, she believed that she could get Imai into a lake, and we all know that would never happen.

I got out of bed and immediately went to my bathroom to bathe and get ready for the day ahead of me. Once I was dressed and presentable by my mothers standards, I made my way to the animal bar immediately. I knew Ruka would be there, and right now, he was the only one I could talk to about the matter.

Just like I suspected, I found him there feeding Mother's horse with a big grin on his face as always. He was always like this whenever he fed the animals. In fact, if he could come to this very barn, he wouldn't even think it over, he'd be here in a matter of moments.

"Hey Natsume, where were you at breakfast, everyone was worried" he said once he noticed me and I walked up to Blaze, the horse my parents bought for me, and pat him on his neck gently. I have to admit, it was relaxing in here, despite the fact it smelt so revolting, courtesy of the animal shit.

"I just woke up" I said and he raised his eyebrow at me. "I screwed up Ruka, last night I couldn't sleep so I went to the cherry blossom tree, Mikan was there and we were talking and...I kissed her" I muttered and he dropped the feeding pail he was holding as he starred at me.

"How did she react?" he asked, a small smile forming on his lips as he picked up the feeding pail before giving me his undivided attention. I sighed and leaned against the wall as Blaze attempted to nuzzle my neck.

"Well, naturally she was shocked, but what was strange was she ended up kissing me back" I said and his grin widened. He quickly finished feeding the animals before coming up to me with a shocked, eager expression on his face.

"Then what happened? Did you tell her how you felt about her?" he asked and I snorted before running my hands through my hair. "That probably explains why Mikan was so out of it at breakfast. Not even Imai knew what was wrong with her, but she intends to find out, I'm sure she's doing that right now" he said and I cringed slightly.

"I didn't tell her how I felt, once I realized what I did, I got up and left" I muttered, which caused him to shake his head and look at me with a dissappointing look in his eyes. "What? Are you going to critizize me now?" I asked and he smiled slightly before shaking his head again.

"You kissed her, what's the point in not telling her that you love her? It doesn't make any sense!" he exclaimed and I glared at him. I don't get how he doesn't understand my point of view, usually it was very easy for him to see where I was coming from, yet now he was still trying to pursuade me into doing something I can't do.

"It does make sense. In a week I'll be married, so it wont matter anymore whether I love her or not, next week I'll be Imai's husband, and nothing can change that" I said and I saw a smug grin form on his face.

"I'm gonna say this again Natsume, good things happen to those who wait" he said and I rolled my eyes before looking up towards the hay loft. I remember hiding up there with Ruka whenever Mother wanted me to go to some social event with her, just sitting there and reading while Ruka tried to catch the mice that ran about.

"There's not much time left to wait for" I mumbled and Ruka placed his hand on my shoulder and smiled at me, before leaving me alone in the barn. I sighed and walked out of the barn myself, and starred at the clouds that drifted by. It was a beautiful day, maybe going to the lake wouldn't be such a bad idea. However, my thoughts were interrupted when I felt someone grab my shoulder.

I turned around, and my glare dissappeared as I starred at Mikan who was looking at me with a determined look in her eyes, but that didn't hide the blush that was bright on her face. Shit, I was hoping I could avoid this a little longer.

"N-Natsume, why did you k-kiss me?" she stammered and I glared at her before trying to walk off, only to get blocked by her yet again. "Answer my question! Don't ignore me" she said and small growl escaped my throat as I turned to try to walk away again, but yet again she blocked me. "Come on! What's so hard about answering a stupid question, Natsume?" she yelled and I finally had enough.

All the anger I've been holding in, ever since the day Mother and Father annouced that I had to get married, just seemed to build up inside me. Not only that, but the fact that I was actually embarrassed made my temper even worse.

"Okay you want to know why I kissed you? It's simple, and only an idiot wouldn't be able to find out right away. I'm in love with you, Mikan. I, Natsume Hyuuga, prince to the Hyuuga kingdom, fell in love with a maid. But you know what? It doesn't matter, because next week I'm going to be married to Imai. So please, just let me suffer through this week alone, because it's going to be hard enough to get married knowing that I'm not marrying the one girl I've ever fallen for" I snapped before stomping off, leaving her in shock standing there.


	10. Chapter 10: The Plan

_**Hey guys! Kurokoneko-chan here :) So we had another snow day today! Yay! Sorry that this chapter is so short :( but I hope you like it anyways! And I'll try to finish this story before Midterms since it's pretty hard to type and study at the same time hehe :) Anyways please enjoy and I do not own Gakuen Alice :)**_

**Chapter 10: The Plan: Ruka's POV-**

Natsume seemed truly upset with what he did last night. I don't know why, after all, isn't that the easiest way to confess to a girl? By kissing her? But then again...Mikan isn't like normal girls, she's very dense to other peoples feelings.

Also, Natsume still doesn't know that Mikan is the real princess, he still believes he's marrying Hotaru next week. So that's probably another reason why he's so angry lately, and why he tends to escape somewhere everyday. With that, I made my way to Hotaru and Mikan's room. If Mikan said anything at all about what happened last night, it would be to Hotaru, and knowing Hotaru, she went straight to her room after breakfast.

Everyday, maids and servants bombard Hotaru with questions on what kind of flowers she wants at her wedding and what kind of food she wants to be served. She always says the same thing. "I need time to think over my choices, please come back later and I'll give you my answer." Once the servants leave, she discusses the options with Mikan who choices what she believes will please everyone.

Once I got to their room, I knocked on the door softly, but loud enough so if there was anyone in the room, they would hear it. I heard someone curse softly before the sound of heels on the wooden floors came closer to the door, which opened, revealing a pissed off Hotaru. As soon as she was it was me, however, her look softened and she stepped aside, a silent invitation inside the room.

"What's got you in such a bad mood?" I asked and I heard her..growl? I noticed she wasn't wearing a gown like usual, instead she was wearing a maid outfit, which I couldn't help but laugh at. "You done playing princess huh?" I whispered as I closed the door behind us before following her to sit down on one of the beds.

"You have no idea" she grunted before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Last night, Mikan couldn't sleep again so she left, she didn't come back until after midnight and she was mumbling about something and seemeded to be freaking out. I ignored it and went back to sleep" she said and I nodded.

"Well this morning she was still mumbling about it, so I asked her what happened and she said 'I'm going to go ask him why he did that' then stood up and rushed outside, that was probably twenty minutes ago and she hasn't been back. Do you have any idea what she's babbling about?" she asked and I grinned.

"Last night, Natsume couldn't sleep so he went to the cherry blossom tree where he found Mikan sitting there, after talking for a couple of minutes, he kissed her then left without telling her why" I said and she raised her eyebrow, a small smirk forming on her face.

"Huh, so Hyuuga as some sort of guts after all, too bad he was too much of a-" she started, but was interrupted when the door flew open, revealing Mikan. She looked rather happy and excited, but she also looked a little frantic, and...guilty? "Speak of the devil" Hotaru muttered as we watched Mikan pace back and forth.

"Oh my god you guys, I totally screwed up. I should never have gone threw with this stupid plan, I should've just been myself from the start" she whined and we stared at her, waiting for her to continue. "Natsume kissed me last night" she said, as she blushed a bright red and fiddeled with her fingers.

"Yeah, so?" we both said and she froze and gave us a weird look. Obviously she was expecting some big reaction, in fact, she actually looked a little disappointed in how we reacted, but she brushed it off anyway's.

"Well...I sorta confronted him, and asked him why he kissed me...and he got mad...then he told me he was in love with me, but it didn't matter because he was going to marry you next week so I should just leave him alone for the rest of the week because its going to be hard as it is knowing he can't marry the one girl he's ever had feelings for" she said as she blushed an even darker red.

"Finally! Though I'm surprised you couldn't read the signs...I guess your just so dumb you need someone to say it...scratch that, _shout_ it to you face" Hotaru stated and I grinned. I know that right now, Natsume probably pissed of and embarrassed, but I was glad that he finally confessed, because now, Mikan is sure to confess to him as well.

"Hotaru! You knew? Why didn't you tell me in the first place? Then I would've told him the truth days ago! Ugh! I feel so terrible, he's stressed over so much stuff and it's all my fault. If I only told him, he wouldn't be so angry about this wedding" she muttered and I grinned.

"Mikan relax, It's probably a good thing you did this plan. You were able to get to know him without people watching your every move. If you didn't go through with this plan, you would never have gotten time alone with each other, and then you would never have fallen in love" I said and she looked at me with this lost puppy dog like look.

"But still! Natsume doesn't deserve being lied to, and now he's angry and upset because of it. He could very well hate me because of this. I mean, if I were him I would hate my guts..." she mumbled and I saw tears form in her eyes before slowly falling down her cheeks.

"That's what your worried about? You think he'll hate you once he finds out the truth? God, Mikan, even you can't be _that _dumb, can you?" Hotaru snapped and shook her head. "I suppose you can, but I'll tell you right now, your an idiot" she stated and Mikan gasped slightly before pouting.

"If Hyuuga loves you, the only thing that will run through his head when you tell him is 'thank god'. He clearly wants to be with you, but he doesn't know he can, so when he finds that out, I'm pretty sure he'll be estatic...well, as estatic as that emotionless freak can be" she muttered and I chuckled.

"Your calling him an emotionless freak? Isn't that a bit hypocritical?" I asked and she glared at me, causing me to lean backwards with my hands up, palm facing towards her. "Hey, I'm just stating a fact, after all, you barely ever smile" I said and she folded her arms before clenching her jaw.

"At least I _do_ smile. While I've been here, I haven't seen him smile once...not even when tormenting Mikan. That makes me smile all the time" she mumbled and Mikan glared at her while I just laughed.

"Actually..I've seen him smile a couple times. His smiling face is so...hypnotizing...I can't help but stare whenever he smiles, it's just so amazing to see something that rare" she said and smiled as a light blush formed on her cheeks. I can't believe I didn't notice her feelings for Natusme earlier, after all, whenever she talks about him, a small smile will form on her face, and her eyes will sparkle.

"Well more power to you, you can get the arrogant cold hearted prince to smile" Hotaru muttered as she laid down on the bed with her eyes closed. Mikan sighed rather loudly before joining her and starring up at the ceiling with a blank expression on her face.

"Yeah, but I also caused him a lot of suffering, stress, and anger. I'm such a bad person!" she yelled and I heard Hotaru chuckle slightly before sitting up and starring at Mikan with one eyebrow raised, as if she couldn't believe a word of what Mikan just said, but then again, neither could I.

"You? A bad person? Oh this is rich, saint Mikan believes she's a bad person simply because the guy she fell in love with, fell in love with her, but he believes he's marrying her best friend and not her" she scoffed before shaking her head. "You obviously do not know what the definition of a 'bad person' is" she said and Mikan rolled her eyes.

"Every minute I pretend to be a maid, I'm hurting him even more, and when he confessed I couldn't even bring myself to tell him I felt the same because I felt so horrible, I am a bad person" she stated as she took a deep breath.

"Well then the answer to your problem is simple, tell him the truth, say your deeply in love with him and surprise! Your also the princess he's suppose to marry" she said and Mikan glared at her before faking a laugh.

The room was filled with silence for a moment. Mikan seemed to be thinking about something while Hotaru seemed like she was just trying to relax a little. I couldn't help but be grateful that Mikan was actually the princess, after all, I didn't want the girl I was falling in love with to marry my best friend. Yes I admit it, I started developing feelings for Hotaru the day I learned the secret and she started to trust me more.

It was strange, I know, she was so cold, and very greedy, yet if you got to know her, you could see that she was actually very sweet in her own way, and really cared for her best friend. After all, if she was really as cold as she seemed when you first met her, she would never have pretended to be the princess to help Mikan.

"I got it!" Mikan yelled snapping me out of my thoughts, and Hotaru out of her slumber. "Okay I know how I can make this right. We may get in a lot of trouble, but I don't care, I just want Natsume to be happy" she said and Hotaru drowned before sitting up.

"Okay, but I suggest we leave Nogi out of the plan, after all, he could get in trouble if people find out he knows, so he needs to be surprised like everyone else" she stated before standing up and opening the door. "I suggest you go make sure that friend of your didn't break another door, I heard the Queen Hyuuga complaining about it this morning to one of the guards" she said and I rolled my eyes before standing up and walking out the door.

She was right, I had to go find Natsume before he did something that could end up hurting him. I know Natsume isn't stupid, but I also know that he tends to have temper issues, especially when he embarasses himself.

The strange thing is, I knew exaclty where he was. Most people would guess the cherry blossom tree, but I knew better. When Natsume was in a mood like he was now, he wanted to be in a place that no one would be able to find him. A place no one would think to look for a prince. A place me and him used to hide when we were younger.

I quickly made my way to the animal barn, opening the doors quietly before slipping inside. I heard the animals shuffling around, but I ignored them as I climbed up the ladder to the loft. After first it was hard to see past the hay bails, but soon enough, I saw him leaning against the wall with his head resting against the wall and his eyes closed.

"What are you doing here Ruka" he muttered, not even bothering to look up at me. Yeah...he was pissed off. Usually when he was angry, he would read or something but he was just sitting there. "Well?" he asked, opening one eyes to stare at me.

"Seeing how your doing. You seemed very upset about what happened last night, so I wanted to check on you to make sure you didn't break your hand like you did when you were nine. I remember when wanted to put a snake in Aoi's bed to freak her out and your father said no, you got so agree you punched the wall of the castle and broke you hand" I said and chuckled at the memory.

"I'm not going to break my hand again, I already pulled enough stupid stunts today" he growled and I had to stop myself from laughing. I didn't really understand why he saw his stunt to be stupid, but again, I'm only thinking about how I see it. I see it as a way for him to learn the truth about Mikan sooner, however, he must see it only as an embarrassment.

"What do you mean you did something stupid today? What did you do?" I asked as I walked over to the wall her was leaning against and sat down next to him, resting my arms on my knees.

If he knew that Mikan told me what happened, then he would automatically figure out that I knew something he didn't about Mikan, and I'm not about to tell him anything about her, she has to do that herself.

"Mikan started asking questions, and I got irritated and yelled something I wish I didn't. That's all" he growled and I rolled my eyes. He definitely knew how to take something as big as confessing your feelings to a girl and make it sound like little news.

"What could you have possibly said that has you so angry?" I pressed. I don't know why I was finding this so fun, but it was. It was strange and rare to see Natsume embarrassed and angry about something, so I couldn't help but torture him because of it. After all, once he finds out I know Mikan's secret, he's going to kill me.

"I told her that I loved her okay" he snapped and I bit down on my cheek to get myself from bursting out laughing. I may be his best friend, but even I find it hysterical to watch him lose his cool over a girl.

"Wow Natsume, your whipped. Why don't we go into town, gather Youichi and the other kids from the orphanage and head to the lake? I think you need some time to clear your mind, and it will also get you away from the castle" I said and he opened his eyes before taking a deep breath.

"Whatever" he muttered and I laughed as we stood up and made our way towards the castle gates. I figured whatever Mikan and Hotaru are planning, they will need us out of the way, so if I take Natsume out of the castle, it will not only help calm him down, but help them with their plan.


	11. Chapter 11: Announcements

_**Okay, so after taking what my friend said to consideration, I decided there is going to be one more chapter :) Then this story is finished! Yay! I've already been planning my next two/ three stories though :) So I'll have new material very quickly. But if you guys haven't already, feel free to go to my profile and check out my other stories! Anywho, please enjoy this chapter :) I do not own Gakuen Alice.**_

**Chapter 11: Announcments: Natsume's POV-**

Ruka and I stayed at the lake all day. We brought the kids from the orphanage with us, but around five or so, we brought them back so they could eat dinner, before going back to the lake ourselves. We didn't talk much, we just sat there reading, and enjoying some small talk every now and then. Thank god Ruka didn't bring Mikan up at all.

Once we got back to the castle, practically everyone was already in their rooms preparing for bed. The only people outside were Ruka and I along with the guards who were patrolling the area. Ruka and I went our seperate ways soon after arriving at the castle, and I quickly made my way to my room, just to make sure I didn't have another midnight meeting.

I was now lying in bed starring up at my ceiling with one hand behind my head, and another hand on my stomach. I can't sleep...at first it was normal insomnia, but now it was because I couldn't stop thinking about the events that have occurred.

Part of me is glad that I confessed my feelings to Mikan. After all, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. However at the same time it feels like the weight of an even greater issue is slowly weighing me down.

Ever since I can remember I'm been cold and independent. A loner you could say. Even my parents say that I was very grumpy and indifferent as a baby. As I grew up, it only got worse. People feared that if they did something wrong around me, I could get them fired...people feared _me_. What really sent me into my own personal darkness was when we found out Aoi was mute.

That really took a lot out of me. After all, she's my little sister, I felt like I couldn't protect her. I barely talked to anyone after that, in fact I only talked to Ruka and Aoi. When speaking to my parents it was always a business meeting type of thing. My servants started to fear me even more then before since my gaze got colder and colder.

In fact, I was only kind to Aoi, Ruka, and the kids at the orphanage. I wanted those kids to have a nice childhood, that's why I want to do everything in my power to help them. Other then those selected few, I always kept to myself...that is until that maid came.

Even though I was the one at fault for falling into the darkness, she seemed to find a way to bring light into it. She's oppisite of me. She's social, cheery, and always happy. She always sees the good in people. She was like the sunshine in a universe filled with darkness. As much as I'd rather be alone, I needed her.

"God dammit" I muttered, slamming my fist into the matress beside me. I sighed loudly as I closed my eyes. As soon as my eyes are closed, however, I yawned and sleep took over, pulling me into a dreamless slumber.

"Natsume! Natsume wake up!" I heard Ruka yelling and I opened my eyes to be greeted by sun light along with someone knocking on the door. I groaned before sitting up and running my hands through my hair. What could he possibly want? I sighed before standing up and answering the door.

"What?" I growled, slightly pissed off. He raised his eyebrow before laughing lightly and shaking his head. "What's so funny?" I asked and he waved his hand in front of his face, as if saying I should brush it off.

"Nothing, your just so _pleasant_ in the mornings" he said and I rolled my eyes which only made him laugh again. "I was sent here by your mother to wake you up, there is a meeting in the ball room and she says your required to go" he said and I sighed.

"Alright, I'll be down in a minute" I said but he walked in and sat on my bed, signalling that he was suppose to bring me back with him. I quickly grabbed some clothes my mother would find respectful, before going into the bathroom to bathe and get dressed. But before heading back into my bedroom to leave with Ruka, I ruffled my hair, making sure it was very messy.

"Let's go" I commanded and Ruka nodded before standing up and following me into the hall way. I know I was acting cold towards him, but I can't help but feel like he knows something I don't. I mean after all, he's been laughing a lot lately, and he always says things like "good things happen to those who wait". Its as if he knows something good is going to happen soon.

As we made are way to the ball room, I noticed a strange tense atmosphere. Like someone was worried about something. We walked in silence all the way to the ball room, but once we got there, the silence dissappeared and was replaced by loud talking. This made me groan before I walked to the corner in the back of the room with Ruka following behind me.

"Wow, looks like the entire kingdom is here!" Ruka exclaimed and I scanned the crowd, seeing many peasants and those who live in the village. What ever the meeting was about, it was huge.

I looked over at the stage area the podium was on and saw that right next to the stage stood Yuka and Izumi Sakura, looking excited and happy. They obviously knew why we were here. Next to them, I saw Mother, Father, and Aoi looking lost and confused. Whatever the news was, it must be the Sakura's introducing it.

In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but be hopeful that Imai decided to call of the wedding, but I knew that wouldn't be the case. After all Yuka and Izumi wouldn't be excited if that were the case.

I watched as Yuka walked up onto the stage before standing in front of the podium, signalling for everyone to be quiet. She waited patiently as everyone fell into silence, before smiling brightly as she faced everyone.

"Welcome everyone, I'm so sorry to disturb you from your busy scheduals, but I'm afraid we have a very important anouncement this morning. Now, I beg you all be open minded and patient as you listen, and try not to make any out-bursts. Thank you, I now give the floor to Hotaru Imai" she said and stepped aside, one hand gesturing to the curtain behind her.

When Imai walked out from behind the curtain, almost everyone except for Yuka, Izumi, Ruka, and I, gasped. No, Ruka didn't gasp, he accidentally yelled "oh shit!" before throwing his hand over his mouth as people turned around to glare at him. Imai included.

"Ladies and gentlement, I'm sure your all shocked to see me wearing a maids dress, and I don't blame you. It really is something different, isn't it? Now, as Queen Sakura has said, I beg of you to have an open mind on the news we have to share with you. Many of you will be angry, and other just shocked, but we will definitely explain" she said and I raised my eyebrow. We?

"About a week ago, I came to this castle because of an arranged marriage. Since then I've been living here as a way to get to know the prince and decide if I wanted to marry him. I've made my decision and not now, nor ever for that matter, would I marry Prince Natsume-" she stated and the crowd erupted in gasps, while I raised my eyebrow and smirked slightly. I could hear Ruka laughing beside me while Yuka and Izumi were trying to keep their cool so they wouldn't burst out laughing.

"However, that's not my decision, because I am not the princess" she said cooly and the entire ball room became silent. To say I was surprised was an understatement, but if someone looked at me, I know they would think I'm angry. No...they wouldn't think I'm agree, they'd think I'm furious.

"I, Hotaru Imai, am nothing than a maid who works for the princess. For the past week, I've been pretending to be the princess as a favor to the real heir to the Sakura Kingdom" she said and closed her eyes as people started whispering amoungst themselves.

Great...now I have to marry a complete stranger. I probably could've survived if I was marrying Imai, after all, she's cold and distant like I am, but now what if I'm stuck marrying some annoying fangirl? I swung my fist back, smashing it into the wall, with a small cracking sound. Ruka immediately looked over at my fist with his mouth hanging open.

"Natsume! You cracked the wall! Why are you so mad?" he asked and I glared at him before pulling my hand away revealing a fairly large crack in the wall. I flexed my hand open and closed, whincing slightly when I felt a bit of pain in my knuckles. I probably bruised something.

"Of course I'm pissed, chances are the princess is going to be some annoying fan type of chick and is going to annoy the hell out of me" I growled and I saw him shake his head from the corner of my eye, but I didn't give it much thought.

"Now, I'll let her explain the rest. It's my honor to introduce to you all, the _real_ princess of the Sakura Kingdom. My best friend, her majesty Mikan Sakura" she announced and my eyes widened as the curtains parted revealing Mikan.

She's wearing a complicated pink, floor-length gown that fluffed out at the skirt. Her hair was down and curled slightly at the ends and on top of her head she wore the silver tiara with rose quartz embedded in it in a shape that made them look like cherry blossom petals.

"Hi everyone, I'm sure your shocked, and angry, but please, don't get mad at Hotaru and Ruka-kun, they were just helping me and being my friends" she said and Ruka hit his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Mikan...they wouldn't have known Nogi was involved in any way if you didn't say anything" Imai said and Mikan blushed brightly before her mouth fell into a small O shape. Imai pinched the bridge of her nose before looking over and Ruka and I and mouthing the word sorry.

"Thanks a lot Mikan..." Ruka muttered and I turned and glared at him. "Wait! Natsume, you can kill me later, just listen, she's going to explain" he said with his hands in front of him, palms facing forward. I deepened my glare before turning and looking back at Mikan who was still blushing.

"Er...anyway's, you all must be wondering why I would pull a stunt like this. If you think about it, it's very simple. I don't want to get married because of a duty, I feel that that's wrong. When you marry someone, you should marry them because you love them, and you want to spend the rest of you life with them" she said and the crowd fell silent to listen to her.

"I asked Hotaru to pretend to be the princess so I could get to know Prince Natsume as a normal person. I find that when in the presence of royalty, personalities change a lot, so I wanted to see who he really was, after all, if we didn't get along, I didn't want to force him to marry me, not even if it pleased everyone else" she said and more whispereing began.

"Now before you judge me, think about how you'd feel if you were being forced into a marriage. I know what I did was wrong and unfair to everyone, especially the prince, but I don't regret it, because I did, in fact, get to know him, and I found out that he's very nice...and sweet...and I'm glad I had the chance to get to know him. Also if he's still willing, then I'd love to become his bride" she said and looked a me, a bright blush forming on her cheeks.

I noticed that Aoi was smiling brightly clapping, and Mother and Father were also smiling. I even saw tears in Mother's eyes. I can't believe I was too naive to see this. Mikan not only looks like Yuka, but acts like her father Izumi. Mikan's hands were soft, while Imai's where rough from work. Also, Mikan knew other languages while any normal girl would only know her native language.

I can't believe I was so absorbed in my problems and thoughts that I couldn't put the pieces together. Ruka was always saying good things happen to those who wait, how did I not see a meaning in that sentence? God I feel so stupid.

Yet, I was also extremely happy. It didn't show of course, but I really was. If someone looked at me, they would see a calm arrogant jerk that didn't really care, but those who know me well enough, they'd be able to see that deep down, I was happy, estatic even.

"Well...that's all I have to say, thank you for listening, and again, I beg that none of you get mad at Hotaru and Ruka, the only reason they didn't tell anyone was because I made them promise not to" she said and with that, bowed before stepping off the stage. She was then surrounded by people, so I smiled ever so slightly before looking at Ruka and motioning for him to follow me.

We walked to the cherry blossom tree where I sat down and closed my eyes. I could feel Ruka sit down next to me, and I could also tell that he was very nervous. He probably thought I was going to yell at him for keeping such a big secret from me. Don't get me wrong, I considered it, but at the moment, I didn't care. I was happy, and relaxed.

"I can't believe I didn't see this from the beginning, I knew something was off about that girl. I can't believe that idiot fooled me" I muttered and I heard Ruka chuckle slightly. I opened my eyes and looked at him and saw he was just as happy as I was.

"No, she didn't fool you, her friends came up with the plan and Hotaru's been making sure she didn't blow the secret. Look, I'm really sorry I didn't tell you when I found out, but she said all those things, about not wanting to marry because of a duty, and I knew that she wanted the same as you, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to let her go on with her plan, I didn't think you'd be so upset and angry" he said and I just lifted my hand as a signal for him to shut up.

"I'm not angry Ruka, far from it in fact. You don't understand how..relieved I am. All my problems just flew out the window today because of that idiotic air headed maid...er..princess" I said and he laughed. "That's gonna take some getting use to" I muttered and he laughed again.

"Your really happy, aren't you Natsume?" he asked and I nodded. "I'm glad, I was worried that things wouldn't work out well, but it turns out-" he started, but suddenly stopped mid sentence. I looked at him and noticed he was starring past me with a smile on his face. I looked in the direction he was starring at and saw Mikan and Imai standing there.

I immediately stood up, Ruka quickly following suit as we stood in front of the two girls. Mikan was blushing brightly as she looked at the ground while Imai had an amused expression on her face.

"Come on Hotaru" Ruka said softly before taking her by the hand and leading her towards the animal barn. I raised and eyebrow as I watched them, who would've thought Ruka would fall for the Ice Queen? However, before I could think to much into it, a sweet, angelic voice caught my attention.

"I definitely didn't miss these dresses" Mikan stated and I turned and looked at her as she walked towards me. "Natsume..I'm really sorry I lied to you, I just...I didn't want to get married to someone I didn't know, so I wanted to get to know you, and I see how people act around royalty so I wanted to get to know you for you" she said and I rolled my eyes.

"Mikan I-" I said but she cut me off.

"I really didn't think anyone would be upset about it, but I saw how angry you got yesterday so I decided I had to tell everyone the secret because it wasn't fair to you guys. Especially you, I mean how could I only think about myself? I'm not the only one who was being forced into a marriage. God I'm so stupid! I can't believe I didn't think of any of this" she yelled.

"Look I-" I tried again, but like before she interrupted me.

"I feel so bad! How could I be so selfish!" she said and I sighed and took a step towards her. "I mean seriously, it's like I don't think about-" she started but I placed my lips on hers, stopping her from continueing.

She moaned slightly from shock before relaxing and kissing me back. I wrapped my arms around her small waist and pulled her closer, as she wrapped her arms around my neck, deepening the kiss. After a few moments, we pulled apart and I placed my hand gently on her cheek.

"Mikan...you're marrying me" I stated and she blinked a couple of times before what I said registered. When she finally understood she smiled brightly and threw her arms around my neck in a tight hug as she squealed rather loudly. I couldn't help but smile as I hugged her back and kissed the top of her head.

"I...I love you Natsume...I love you so much!" I heard her whisper and I smiled before pushing her back and kissing her again. I was aware that we were being watched. By a couple people in fact. I wouldn't doubt that the people spying on us were Ruka, Imai, Yuka, Izumi, Mother, Father, and Aoi, but at the moment, I didn't really care.

"I know...you wouldn't have pulled that stunt on stage if you didn't" I stated and I heard her laugh lightly. "I love you, Mikan" I murmured and felt her body heat up. Yeah...she was blushing.

With that, we pulled apart and looked towards the castle where our families were watching, big smiles plastered on their faces. I took Mikan's hand and led her towards them. After all, we had to tell them the wedding was still on.


	12. Chapter 12: Epilogue

_**Okay everyone! Last chapter. Now, I'm very sorry that the epilogue is so short, truth be told, I lost interest in this story months ago, that's why I've been having trouble updating fast enough, but I swear, I'll have new stories up as soon as possible! Thanks to all of you who've dedicaded themselves to reading my stories! It means sooo much to me, and thanks to all of you who have reviewed. After all this story got over 4,000 hits! Thanks everyone! Please enjoy the chapter, and I do not own Gakuen Alice :)**_

**Chapter 12: Epilogue: Natsume's POV-**

A week passed and Mikan and I got married just as planned. The ceremony was small, and the guest list consisted of my parents, Aoi, Mikan's parents, Imai, Ruka, and Mikan's friends Tsubasa, Misaki, Anna, Nonoko, Koko, Yuu, Sumire, and Nobara.

We decided to keep the wedding private, so we didn't announce it to any of the villagers. In fact, we held the ceremony at the lake in order to keep it quiet. Also, Mikan wanted the view to be perfect, so she insisted on the lake, after all, that's where it all started.

After our wedding, Mikan asked our parents if they would mind keeping their title until they were physically incapable of doing so. When asked why, she smiled at them and simply stated-

"I want to raise a family and allow my kids to have a childhood! Natsume and I weren't allowed to have a normal childhood, and I want my kids to be able to enjoy themselves!"

Upon hearing this, my mother immediately agreed and even bought us a home in a small village where no one would recongized us. Mikan, however, wasn't done yet. She still had something she had to do before we moved to our new home.

Now, eight years later, I'm sitting down on our sofa, reading a book in the small cabin we now live in. Well, I can't say small, it was pretty roomy. It had three bedrooms with two bathrooms, a medium sized kitchen, along with a living area, and a spacious back yard. But it's definitely smaller then we're use to.

Mikan picked all the furniture out herself, which we were able to afford courtesy of the money our parents send us every month, and she even started to learn how to cook. She insists that she has to learn how to be a stay at home mother.

I closed my book before placing it on the coffee table and taking a deep breath. I wasn't used to the house being so quiet, usually it was always loud, and to be honest obnoxious. But I've grown to love the noise, so when it's quiet, I find it rather creepy.

As if on cue, I heard the sound of the front door opening, signalling that someone was home, and the creepy essence vanished almost immediately when I heard foot steps coming towards the living area.

"Natsume! I'm home!" I heard someone shout, and I instantly knew that it was Mikan by the way her cheery voice bounced off the walls. I looked towards the door and saw her walk in, a bright smile on her face. She's always smiling like that.

"I dropped Youichi, Amu, and Kimi off at Ruka and Hotaru's house to play with Utau, and Kuukai" She stated happily before seating herself next to me and resting her head on my shoulder.

Oh I forgot to mention, soon after we got married, Mikan and I adopted Youichi. Not only that, but we also had a large estate built at the lake for the kids at the orphanage to live in, which we donate a fairly large amount of money to each month.

Not only that, but three or four months after Mikan and I got married, Imai and Ruka ended up having their own wedding, and Imai gave birth to their daughter, Utau, nine months later.

Utau has Ruka's blonde hair, and Imai's purple eyes, she also has an attitude just like Imai, but I'd have to say, her personality has a good mix of Ruka's in there too

After Utau was born, Mikan wanted to have her own daughter, so we did and named Amu. She has Mikan's personality, and brown eyes, and my raven black hair. Then a year after that, Mikan gave birth to our other little girl.

We named her Kimi, and she's the exact oppisite of her sister with brown hair, crimson eyes, along with my personality. Around the same time Kimi was born, Kuukai, Ruka and Imai's son was born. He has black hair and blue eyes, along with Ruka's personality.

Speaking of Ruka and Imai, they moved into a house close to ours in the same villiage as soon as they learned about Imai's first pregnancy, after all, Imai insisted that our kids should become best friends, just like her and Mikan.

Now, Youichi is twelve years old, and his sisters are six and seven. Utau is seven as well, and Kuukai is six. All of them were pretty well behaved, but I couldn't help but notice that all of them seemed to have Mikan's award winning smile.

I looked up at Mikan and smiled before placing my hand on the back of her neck, pulling her closer to me and kissing her, causing her to blush brightly, just like she always does.

Once we pulled apart, I looked up at her and smiled, before placing my hand over her round stomach as she giggled. She then placed her own hand on her stomach before smiling brightly and patting her belly softly.

"He's been kicking a lot more lately! I think he wants out, he wants to meet his Daddy and siblings!" she stated and I rolled my eyes before looking at her.

"He?" I asked and she smiled brightly and nodded. "How can you possibly know if he's a he or not?" I asked and this time she rolled her eyes. God, she was way too cheery for a pregnant women, I mean, when Imai was pregnant she was miserable. Man, I felt bad for Ruka.

"Easy! You want a boy and we already have two girls, so it has to be a he!" she announced and I sighed before placing my lips on hers yet again. She was so optimistic sometimes, it was hard to keep up.

She giggled lightly before resting her head on my shoulder. I smiled again and sighed, completely content. I mean, why wouldn't I be? I went from being miserable, stuck in a castle, to living with the girl I loved, and my children.

My parents, and Aoi visit on occasion, but they have to dress like commoners so they don't stand out. Same goes for Yuka and Izumi. Because of their frequent visits, everyday, Mikan spends an hour teaching the kids sign language, so when Aoi visit, they can communicate with her, even though they only watch _her_ sign, then respond vocally.

Every once in a while I'll teach Youichi some things on how to be a prince. After all, when we hand down the kingdom, he's the first in line to inheirit the thrown. So he must be prepared.

Most people wouldn't have their adoptive child inherit anything above their blood children, but Youichi always seemed like he should be part of our family. Now all we have to do is make sure he protects his sisters from all the bratty boys in this villiage.


End file.
